A Bee Among Strawberries
by eusocialdragon
Summary: Sui-Feng AU.  100 years after she left Soul Society, Shaolin Feng gets caught up in the events of the Substitute Shinigami Arc.  But will her actions help Ichigo, or advance the designs of a sinister conspiracy?
1. A Bee Comes to Karakura

Greetings. This is my first Bleach fanfic, and I'm hoping it's not going to blow up in my face.

A few things before we get going:

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and _Shonen_ _Jump_. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but simply out of a desire to put some creativity demons to rest

Reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive, please. And flames are going to get to meet my non-existent industrial-strength fire extinguisher.

I'm rating the story a 'T'. There will be strong language, violence, maybe a few adult themes. Basically, I'm aiming for something about like the main series.

As for content, this story is mostly a Sui-Feng AU. Yoruichi will appear here and there and have an influence, but this is not a Yoru-Soi fic; if you're looking for that, I'm afraid you'll have to look elsewhere. This is mostly going to be an action/adventure piece with maybe a touch of romance here and there.

And with that…

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><p><strong>A Bee Among Strawberries<strong>

* * *

><p><em>Sui-Feng had to get away.<em>

_She was using shunpo now, going on instinct, trying to make her way to…wherever in this place._

_She flashed from rooftop to street to yard to rooftop._

_Sui-Feng could feel the pain, and the wounds, she'd-_

_That hadn't happened._

_As she flashed again, Sui-Feng just knew that hadn't happened._

_It had been a mix-up, a mistake…_

_The sound of clashing spiritual steel, and the feel of a zanpaktou biting into her…_

_Those eyes…_

_The overwhelming power of her reiatsu…_

_The blows from every direction at once…_

_She'd been such an idiot._

_Sui-Feng flashed to a patch of grass, and stopped and sensed._

_The young assassin couldn't smell the reiatsu, but that meant nothing. She was nothing compared to…_

_Why had she come here?_

_Sui-Feng had asked herself that question she didn't know how many times during her flight this…afternoon?_

_Yes, it was afternoon. The light of the Living World's sun was turning the soft orange and gold that she knew would turn into the purple and black of evening. The young shinigami had only been aware of the slowly fading heat of the day, but now she paused to take in her surroundings, to see where she'd wound up this time._

_Sui-Feng supposed she could take that chance. After all, was use was there to actually try running?_

_She was sitting on a grassy incline that led down to a small river, or maybe it was a large creek, that was flowing peacefully below her. The sound mingled with those of the people in the neighborhoods on either side of the river, people who were either wrapping up their business for the day, or were preparing for a night on the town or at home. The smells of food being prepared for the cookfire or stove mingled with warm grass and cool water in Sui-Feng's nose, and for a moment she thought she could be in Rukongai…_

_She should have been in Rukongai. Or the Seireitei. Or hunting Hollows for Soul Society, or…_

_Damn it, how could she have been so _stupid_?_

_Stupid!_

_Stupid!_

_Sui-Feng let out a cry of frustration and anguish as she slammed her fists in the ground on either side of her. No one here would see the unseemly demonstration, of course, and for that she was glad._

_But neither did she terribly much care._

_All she cared about was the shaking and the feeling that the hot tears were going to come back, and the overwhelming fearthat she could die like this. As quickly as she'd put her hands on the ground she clapped them over her eyes, as though to hold in her emotions, or at least hide them in some approximation of a Hollow's mask._

_Like the Hollow she could sense in the distance…_

_Sui-Feng tried to calm herself, tried to think…_

_She should have figured that bastard Urahara would have been up to something. But instead Sui-Feng had fallen for his trap._

_The young assassin's mind whirled with the possibilities…_

_A gigai of some sort, animated by one of Urahara's creations? No, there had been too many cues in the fighting, too many things about her that Urahara couldn't have copied._

_Then perhaps some sort of mind control? That sounded more plausible, but even then Sui-Feng found it hard to believe anyone could bend her mistress' mind like that._

_Sui-Feng wasn't sure, but she knew one thing._

_Whoever that woman she'd fought earlier had been it was most emphatically _not_ Yoruichi-sama._

_It couldn't be… It just couldn't be…_

_Sui-Feng had lived for that woman. For Yoruichi-sama._

_Her whole life had been dedicated to following the head of the Shihoin Clan. She would have done anything, given up everything for Yoruichi-sama, unbidden and unasked._

_And in the end she had…_

"What are _you_ doing here?"

_The words still cut through Sui-Feng's soul._

_She'd seen the empty throne room, heard the rumors the next day. She didn't believe them, even after her clan's elders had pounded the implications into her head._

_Yoruichi-sama couldn't possibly be a traitor. She was the Defender of the Realm, for crying out loud! Granted she didn't care much about titles, but still…_

_Sui-Feng _knew_ her…_

_The Hollow was closer now, a movement of air bringing the foul, rancid odor of the thing's reiatsu to her nostrils…_

_Sui-Feng realized the tears were flowing again. That she was sobbing again. And that the fear and confusion were surging through her again._

_Just some poor, worthless, stupid…_

_Yoruichi-sama had been surprised at Sui-Feng's arrival, and a little scared. That was to be expected; the Onmitsukido would send their best after their former leader, after all._

_But beyond that, especially once it was clear that the former Taichou and her friend Urahara-taichou weren't in any immediate danger, was the look of contempt on Yoruichi-sama's face. As though Sui-Feng were some peasant interrupting important court business._

_She'd tried to explain herself to her former mistress…_

Former_ mistress…?_

_"Why?" she whispered into her palms, to no one in particular._

_Sui-Feng had nothing now, she knew that. She'd cut her ties to her clan and the Soul Society on her way here, cut them with Suzumebachi in her comrades' bodies and blood. No one would accept her there now. Not ever._

_And no one would accept her here, either._

_She was worthless…as broken a blade as Suzumebachi was now, thanks to the same woman._

_It was actually a relief that the Hollow was closing in on her now, its scent was too powerful to ignore in the cooling summer air. It was approaching tentatively, a smart thing considering it was coming up to one of its kind's ancient enemy. But it was clearly a hunter of shinigami, as Sui-Feng could now smell such mixed in with its reiatsu. No doubt it sensed her own weakness, the blood from her injuries making her easy to track._

_Sui-Feng wasn't going to fight, though. There was no point to it. No point to her life. She would let the thing take her and make use of her worthless self._

_And it would end the crippling fear._

_She tried to calm herself, tried to let the tears and shaking and sobbing stop._

_She wanted to at least not totally embarrass her ancestors before she met her end…_

_The Hollow was almost on her now._

_Sui-Feng smiled, knowing this would be the end, fitting for a fool such as her. She lowered her hands and turned to face the Hollow, wanting to at least see what was about to put an end to her existence._

* * *

><p>"Feng-san. Oh, Feng-saaaan."<p>

A hand waved in front of Shaolin's face, breaking her reverie. She shook her head a little and focused in on the present again.

"Sorry, Hirako-san. I was just thinking…"

"About this place?" He made an elaborate show of scanning the area. "What about it?"

"You don't take things seriously, do you?"

"Helps pass the time. And you, my dear Feng-san, still don't have a sense of humor, I see."

"Not around you, anyway." She smirked a little.

"Oh, that hurt." He dramatically clapped his hands to his chest.

Shaolin shook her head. "I was thinking about when I first came here…when we first came here."

A century had changed Karakura. The banks of the river she'd spent time on in those early days had been covered over in concrete, the river utterly tamed to man's whim. And the houses were cement and brick and she didn't know what else, rather than wood and paper.

Still, when she was standing on the banks of this river, Shaolin couldn't help but remember…

"Did you remember to get the…"

Shaolin put away the nostalgia and turned an annoyed expression onto her Vizard companion.

"Yes, I got it." She laid the large and somewhat tattered traveling bag she'd been carrying on her left shoulder down on the ground. Then she opened it and began to search through its contents, trying to ignore the former Taichou who was hovering over her.

"You know, Feng-san, I'm aware you're not exactly a fashion maven. But…isn't that bag a little…old. I mean I know you've got enough money for a new one-"

"This one's special." Shaolin continued digging through it for another moment and then carefully pulled out the magazine she'd had stowed there.

Shinji took the proffered item, but almost ignored it for the bag. As Shaolin stood, she suddenly saw the dawn of recognition in his face.

"That's the bag that human student…"

"…Tatsuki-chan."

"_Tatsuki-chan_?" He paused. "She's the one who gave it to you a while back, isn't she?"

"Yes."

"And I suppose you try to take it everywhere you go?"

Shaolin slung the bag's strap over her shoulder, and then turned to look at him. She didn't like sarcasm.

"No, but I use it a lot. It's a good bag."

"From a favored student."

Shaolin thought for a moment. "Tatsuki-chan spent a lot of time saving to get this for me, as a sign of respect."

"And of course it would have been insulting to refuse it."

"Of course."

Shaolin turned her attention back to the river, trying to get off the subject. But apparently it was too late.

"You've gotten awfully chummy with them over the years, Feng-san."

Shaolin sighed.

_Here we go again. I can't believe I started this…_

"And that's a bad thing?"

Shinji shrugged, a neutral expression on his face. "They're not us, Feng-san. They don't live in our world."

"We don't live in our world, Hirako-san. Or did you forget?"

"Don't remind me. And that's beside the point."

"Which is 'don't play with the humans, or you'll get us all killed'…" She paused. "Shinji, why do we call them 'humans'?"

"Come again?"

"We're practically cousins. We look like them, act like them…hell, we're drawn from human stock. So why to we act like they're some completely alien species?"

Shinji seemed to think about that.

"I don't know. Maybe I'll ask Aikawa-san about that sometime."

"Speaking of whom…"

Shaolin pointed at her gift, still in Shinji's hands. The Vizard sighed at the Shonen Jump magazine and shook his head as he examined it.

"I just can't get into what those two see in this manga stuff."

"Just be careful with it. That thing is signed."

Shinji raised an eyebrow and flipped through the book. "By the author, no less. They're going to flip."

"It's signed by the _authors_."

"Oh, then they're really going to flip. I'll try to keep it away from Aikawa-san, otherwise I'll have another civil war on my hands."

"Are you going to get on me about what happened to Hiyori again?" Shaolin threw the rucksack back over her shoulder and gave a mock-glare.

Shinji looked like he was for a moment, and then he collapsed into one of his cheesy frown faces. "No, I know she made her own choice. But I blame you for making her want to go out and-"

"…live a little?"

Shinji smiled ruefully and shook his head. "And here we go, again. We can't ever meet without all this sparring, even though I thought we agreed to disagree about this. Thirty years ago."

Shaolin smiled. "We did. But I still like to give you a hard time."

"Back at you."

Shinji took a moment, and then his expression became troubled. "Do you know where Sarugaki-san is now?"

Now it was Shaolin's turn to be defensive. "You don't want to know…"

Shinji arched an eyebrow.

"Do you own a TV?"

"No."

"Good. Don't get one."

The Vizard 'leader' processed that for a moment, and then let it go. "Well, thanks for the magazine – especially since you won't be seeing us for a while."

Now Shaolin arched an eyebrow. "You guys actually taking a vacation?"

"I wish." His expression was deadly serious. "We think a shinigami has been posted to this area. We're not entirely sure, but whoever it is has been in the area for several days now, so we figure it must be a positing. We want to keep our heads down anyway; you know what happens if they find us?"

Shaolin understood perfectly. The Soul Society wasn't terribly forgiving, and a century wasn't that long to them. Especially not for what the Vizards and their companions had 'done'…

"Anybody you know?"

Shinji shook his head. "No, not that that's saying much." He paused again. "But there's another reason we think they've been posted here."

Shaolin felt a cold chill creep through her that had nothing to do with the day's temperature. She closed her eyes and cursed inwardly.

"The Hollows are back, aren't they?"

"Yeah, they are."

_Damn it Isshin-san, I _told_ you this would happen…_

Shinji must have read the look on her face. "There haven't been many yet, just a few. But they're back, Feng-san. And I just thought you might like to know."

Shaolin nodded her head in thanks. "Domo arigato, Hirako-san. I need to start getting ready."

_And get the others ready. Especially Ichigo-kun…_

They turned and started to leave, but then Shinji stopped and turned back to her. "One more thing: we think _she_ might be in town, too."

Shaolin froze at that.

_Yoruichi-sama…_

"Thank you, Hirako-san. I won't ask where she is, since you wouldn't know."

The two ex-shinigami resumed their respective courses, Shaolin's taking her back into the town of Karakura. As she made her way through the streets she made a mental note to ask Kisuke-san about all this.

And about Yoruichi-sama.

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><p><em>It had to be the oddest Hollow Sui-Feng had ever seen.<em>

_It wasn't some gargantuan beast, fangs, claws and what-not flailing around for spiritual flesh._

_Rather, the Hollow was small, smaller than herself. It was in the shape of a girl, if Sui-Feng had to guess, with long blonde hair in a pair of ponytails and a black robe of some sort. In fact, it would have been almost cute but for the grotesque bone mask on its face, the horn jutting out of its forehead being particularly disgusting to Sui-Feng's sensibilities._

_But no matter. Whether the Hollow that consumed her was big or small, Sui-Feng didn't-_

_"Please kill me."_

_The Hollow's words, the near-whisper of a teenaged girl, hit Sui-Feng in the face like the back of Yoruichi-sama's hand had. There was so much pain in those words, so much anguish…_

_Now the young shinigami looked more closely at the Hollow, and realized the black robe was a shihakushou… And there was something on its – no, _her_ – arm…_

_A fuku-taichou's badge?_

_Then she looked into the eyes of the creature. They were the eyes of a Hollow, twin irises of yellow in otherwise empty black sockets, but…_

_There were no tears, but Sui-Feng could see the utter devastation, the self-loathing…the idea that this person's existence meant nothing to them. But there was also a little shock as well, maybe from having met someone who…felt the same way._

_It took a moment for Sui-Feng to find her voice._

_"Who are you, Hollow?"_

_"I'm not a Hollow!" The girl's voice reverberated. "I'm…I mean, I…"_

_"Her name's Sarugaki Hiyori."_

_At the sound of the male voice, both Sui-Feng and…Hiyori turned their gazes towards the buildings behind them. Urahara Kisuke was standing there quietly, a sad look on his face._

_And not too far behind him, a dark-skinned woman with topaz eyes…_

"YOU BASTARD! YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME! You…!"

_Hiyori let out a primal scream, one that had the sound of a Hollow behind it. It made the hair on the back of Sui-Feng's neck stand up, and Urahara-taichou looked unsettled by it as well. Behind him, the dark-skinned, dark-haired woman kept up a guarded expression, her hand going to the hilt of the zanpaktou strapped to her back._

_For a moment, Hiyori looked like she might charge at the two taichou…or was it now former taichou? But the scream seemed to spend the girl's energies, and she collapsed into a sobbing heap right in front of Sui-Feng._

_Sui-Feng honestly didn't know what was going on or what to do. But if this was a former fuku-taichou, this girl had to be terrified. She had probably lost everything, too._

_She was a kindred spirit._

_Before she knew what she was doing, Sui-Feng had her arms around the girl, trying her best to be in a comforting position. She could still hear the girl's sobs, even as her own tears were drying in the evening air._

_"why…? why me…? what did I do, gods…? I don't wanna be a Hollow…"_

_It was a moment before Sui-Feng noticed Urahara had come up to them. She turned a…not-quite glare on the man she'd never trusted before._

_"What is this?"_

_Sui-Feng was surprised by the lack of venom in the question. She guessed that she wanted to know what was going on right now. She also knew she didn't want…Hiyori…to be hurt by this man again._

_Urahara looked very sad, and very ashamed, not his usual cheery self at all. Yoruichi-sama seemed to relax a little, but her expression was still wary._

_"Come with us, Feng-san. Bring Hiyori-san with you. I'll explain everything once we get back to the others."_

_She could feel Hiyori shaking her head in protest._

"_What about…?"_

_Urahara sighed. "It's a long story, Feng-san. Needless to say, I'm largely the reason we're all here today."_

_He held out his hand._

_"Please, come with me."_

_Sui-Feng hesitated for a moment, all the conflicting feelings in her jumbling about. She looked at Yoruichi then, pointing in the older woman's direction._

_"What about…?"_

_She could still feel the older woman's reiatsu and, gods help her for even considering this, she was scared._

_Urahara seemed to pick up on this and smiled a little more. For the oddest of reasons, the sight of it calmed Sui-Feng a little._

_"I'll handle Yoruichi. It's not right what she did back there, but she had her reasons."_

_"What do you mean 'not right', Kisuke?" Yoruichi looked more than a little insulted and her reiatsu flared. "She tried to _kill_ you just this afternoon!"_

_"Yes, she did, as any good servant would." Even though he was calm, Sui-Feng could hear an edge to the man's voice. "You shouldn't fault her for that, you know._

_"Now, let's take this inside where we can get this mess straightened out, shall we?" He looked expectantly at the younger shinigami._

_Sui-Feng thought for a moment, and then sighed._

_What did she have to lose?_

_She picked herself up, pulling Hiyori up despite the other girl's protests and struggles. After a minute, though, even Hiyori seemed to acknowledge what was going on and ceased her struggling. They both got up on their feet, and began to follow as the two taichou made their way back towards the town proper._

_As the river disappeared behind them, Sui-Feng fixed a gaze on Urahara._

"_If you hurt her, you'll have to answer to me, got it?"_

_The former taichou gave a smile that was both sad and slightly amused at the same time._

"_Got it."_

_Yoruichi looked seriously at Sui-Feng. "And if you try to hurt him, _you'll_ have to answer to _me_. Have you got _that_?"_

_It took a moment for Sui-Feng to get over the shock of those eyes…so full of grim intent. She found she couldn't look at them, and instead looked submissively towards the ground._

"_Yeah, I got it Yoruichi-sama."_

_Even as she could feel the older woman turning her attention away, Sui-Feng felt the cold chill flowing through her veins. Even though it was now dimming down a little, the reiatsu that had been such a comfort was now scaring her half to death._

_To think that she could even _consider_ being scared of the woman she'd declared a goddess only hours ago, and be helped by a man she didn't trust._

_What a pathetic person she was._


	2. A Bee at the Shop

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and _Shonen_ _Jump_. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but to clean out my mental closet

As before, reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive, please. And flames are…well, nobody's holding a gun to your head and making you read this, are they?

Thanks for the reviews, _Sabrina1998_ (my first), _Million Dollar Age, __Naybi _and_ samantha626_. I really appreciate the warm welcome to the community (and I hope I don't wear it out :)

There's some addendums at the end of this chapter (for anyone who cares to read them).

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><p>The Urahara Shoten hadn't changed a bit.<p>

It wasn't a terribly grand place, just a small two-story building with tile roof and white-washed walls, one of who knew-how-many in Karakura, never mind the Home Islands. In front of it was a small yard made of bare earth; by design, Shaolin guessed, as there were never enough customers to trample the ground into such a state. The fact that the only way here from the main streets was through a narrow alleyway made sure of that.

No one entered the Urahara Shoten who wasn't specifically looking for the place.

And now she was here again, at a place she'd called home sometimes. She stood in the afternoon shadows of the alleyway, pausing to drink in the scene.

Not that Shaolin had been gone that long, just a few weeks, but it was nice to see some things staying the same.

_If only the same could be said of the Hollows…_

She banished the dark thought and focused more on what was in front of her. It was easy for her, just standing and looking at things, taking in their every detail and then discarding the unessential. And it was a necessity, considering her profession.

So was people-watching.

Humans could be a pain sometimes, but over the last century she'd come to appreciate the drama and energy of human lives, so different from the sterility of the Seireitei.

A young girl exited the shop carrying a broom. She was dressed simply and her long black hair was in pigtails that reminded Shaolin of a certain Vizard. Her face was calm and sad at the same time as she began to sweep in front of the Shoten's entrance.

Ururu…something; Shaolin didn't care to remember the family name. A girl Kisuke-san had hired at some point in the recent past. She looked whipped and broken, even though the master of the place was a kind man, and Shaolin had to wonder what the girl had gone through in life to be permanently marked like that.

There was another human drama in that face, Shaolin was sure of it.

_"You're doing it again."_

Shaolin had almost forgotten her earphone.

"Doing what, Hana?" She spoke softly, so as not to alert Ururu to her presence.

_"You're standing around like an idiot is 'what you're doing again'."_

Shaolin sighed. "You're just upset about not being in the gigai again."

There was a pause.

_"Okay, but still…there are plenty of ways to spend your time more productively Shaolin."_

"And use the gigai more productively."

The gikongan paused again. A sigh this time, Shaolin was sure.

_"And use the gigai more productively."_

Shaolin continued to watch Ururu calmly sweep the yard. Even though it didn't look like it, it seemed the girl liked sweeping.

Shaolin had hated it, hated the waste of her time even as she did it.

"And you would use the gigai for…"

Hana paused. She was thinking now.

Shaolin continued watching Ururu sweep, waiting for Hana's response. They'd had this 'argument' so many times now… These days it was almost a pastime, doodling in the cold ashes of a once-hot fire.

Although with the Hollows back, it might not be such an academic argument anymore.

_"How about getting you a date?"_

The answer caught Shaolin short.

"What?"

_"A date…with a man. You know…"_

"Where did that come from?"

Another pause and Shaolin was sure the gikongan was shaking its 'head'.

_"You really are blind, you know that?"_

"And that's an answer."

_"Yes, my child. Until you have figured out the secret yourself, I can not teach you any more."_

Shaolin half-groaned to herself. The ex-shinigami was still kicking herself over that night twenty years ago, even though Hana had been more than useful for well over that length of time.

_If I'd only known about that kung-fu marathon on the tube…_

Shaolin centered herself; she let Ururu's sweeping calm her. She could see a slight flash of red in one of the windows – probably Jinta.

"Anything else you might use the gigai for?"

Shaolin slowly set the bag Tatsuki had gotten her those years ago down on the ground and opened it up. Even as she started rummaging through its contents, she kept her eyes on the front of the store.

_"I know that tone of voice… What's going on? I don't detect a Hollow…"_

"No, not a Hollow…"

Even as she found the slightly large cell-phone in the sack and started drawing it out, Shaolin could see Jinta looking out the door of the shop. He was so fixated on Ururu that he didn't seem to notice anyone else in the area.

The little brat was definitely going to do it.

"Just a little red-headed jerk named Jinta."

Shaolin pulled out the phone and began to fiddle with the lid on the 'extra port' that had been installed on it.

Jinta meanwhile…

_"Is he doing it again?"_

Shaolin popped the port open and removed what looked like a honey-colored jawbreaker from the cell-phone. She set the device back in the bag and stood up even as Jinta came right up behind Ururu.

"Just about."

Shaolin popped the gikongan into her mouth and there was a rush as she was ejected from the gigai. As she left the physical body, Shaolin made sure to mask her reiatsu; she didn't want to cause any unwanted trouble for the shop or its denizens. But after a century the change had almost become instinct; there wasn't any more disorientation, just a slight 'shift' in her senses as she went from physical to spiritual body and a 'shell' that kept her reiatsu from being broadcast to the world.

That and the feeling of her black 'ninja outfit' covering her skin and a short zanpaktou materializing on her back.

"Hey, Ururu!"

"What the- Hey, Jinta! Jinta stop it!"

A zanpaktou Shaolin was seriously thinking of using on Jinta.

Once again he was using one arm around Ururu's neck to hold her fast, while the other was being used to give her a none-to-gentle noogie.

Hana didn't look too happy at the sight, either.

"So this is what you wanted to get out of the gigai for?"

Shaolin nodded.

"You know the drill."

"Do I ever…"

Shaolin's now-doppelganger displayed a hint of a feral smile before picking up the bag and starting to walk into plain view of the children.

"Jinta! You need to stop! You're supposed to be helping me sweep the yard!"

"Make me!"

"How about I make you."

Jinta paused as he noticed that he and his captive had an audience. And a not very pleased audience, judging by the look on his face.

"Um, Feng-san, when did you get in?" Suddenly he had a very sheepish smile on his face.

He also suddenly realized what he was doing. He quickly released his captive, and then shoved her forward, almost knocking her over.

_Okay, you're definitely going to get it._

"What were you doing?" Hana's 'voice' – Shaolin's voice – was perfectly level, with only a slight undertone of menace

"Um…well…nothing much really…"

"He…wasn't really doing anything…_bad_, Feng-san."

Shaolin shook her head at that. How could anyone defend their own torturer?

Hana stood there, posing as though thinking about what to do to the little twerp. She waited a minute more, letting Jinta sweat a bit.

Then she shook her head and sighed.

"I guess I'll let you off the hook this time."

Jinta smiled in victory.

"But I can't say the same of Shaolin…"

Jinta's smile froze and he pointed at Hana.

"Wait a minute, you're…?"

Hana nodded.

"Then where's…?"

Shaolin activated her shunpo and 'stepped' right behind the boy, a squeak from Ururu giving the only indication the ex-shinigami had been seen.

But it wasn't enough to save Jinta from his fate.

Before he could even turn his head, Shaolin made her move. She balled her fists and drove them straight at Jinta's cranium, twisting vigorously as they hit their target.

And before he knew it, Hanakari Jinta was the victim of Shaolin's patented Double Diamond Drill Noogie.

"WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Ururu simply stood a few feet away, clutching her broom and looking like she was trying to decide whether to be happy for the help or not.

"Ow! Stop, stop! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, and I'll never do it again!"

"Hanakari-san, is something going- Feng-san, what are you doing?"

The deep voice of Kisuke's right hand man Tsukabishi Tessai boomed behind Shaolin, even as his shadow spread over her and her victim.

"Oh, just giving this little oni brat a lesson in how not to behave to your fellow employees."

Shaolin gave Jinta another second or two of scalp-polishing, and then backed off. The boy bolted as fast as he could, coming to stand next to his fellow employee, as Hana walked up beside Shaolin. The boy seemed to have been properly scared out of his wits, for the moment at least, while Ururu looked like she still didn't quite know how she should react.

_Oh well, at least I got my digs in…_

"Uhm, Feng-san…"

"The fact that I'm not in my gigai?"

Tessai murmured assent.

Hana sighed as Shaolin turned to her.

"And I was just getting to really enjoy the sun on my skin…"

"You can do your sunbathing later, Hana. Right now we need to make our friends less nervous."

Shaolin stepped into her other self, the two women quickly 'merging' and the shift in senses occurring again as spirit and artificial flesh became one. A moment later, Shaolin quietly coughed up the gikongan and began the process of putting it back in the cell-phone.

"What's your deal, anyway? I was just horsing around…"

Shaolin glanced at Jinta, who was still rubbing his head and was at least acting a little chastened.

"My 'deal' is that maybe this is hijinks now, but in a few years it's going to be very serious if you're still doing things like that to young women. Straighten up your act, or you'll be talking to the cops, not me?"

"Why should you care?"

Hana was back in the cell-phone, the phone in the bag, and Shaolin slung the bag back over her shoulder as she got up to her feet.

"I don't know if it survived the fire bombings, but there used to be a picture of this place back when it first got started. If you ever find it, take a look and you'll have your answer."

_After all,_ Shaolin thought as she glanced at Ururu, _us emotionally fragile introverts need to stick together._

Both of the children looked utterly mystified.

Shaolin now wheeled around to face Tessai, craning her neck back so she could at least attempt to look in the dusky-skinned giant's eyes as she spoke. It gave her a view of the plain workman's outfit and apron he always wore, no matter when she'd seen him. Although that was better than what he'd worn when he was leader of the Kidou Corps.

She bowed in apology.

"Pardon the incident just now, Tsukabishi-san. You understand why I might have done it."

Tessai took a moment to answer.

"I don't approve of the commotion in front of the store. But, I suppose I can overlook it this once, seeing as you are a friend of Urahara-san's and a valued customer."

_The later being much more important than the former I'm sure._

"Hey!"

"Hanakari-san."

The gaze of Kisuke's manservant silenced the boy more effectively than Shaolin's threat would; he looked not terrified, but more than a little reluctant to cause any more trouble for the time being. With that settled, Tessai turned his attention back to Shaolin.

"I assume you wish to speak to the master?"

"If he's in."

Tessai nodded. "He is, though he's been sleeping in lately."

"Well, wake him up if you have to. I have something to show him from my trip." She shook the bag on her shoulder for emphasis.

Tessai raised an eyebrow.

"I'll do as you ask. Please come in and look around the store at your leisure, while I find him."

"And I promise, no more 'incidents' today." Shaolin smiled and looked at every other person in the yard for emphasis.

"Very good. Hanakari-san, Tsumugiya-san."

Tessai started back into the shop, the children following after him. Shaolin lagged a moment and then walked into the Shoten herself. The three employees disappeared further into the store-cum-home, and Shaolin tried and failed to see Hiyori following Tessai that dutifully.

To think two decades ago Hiyori had actually tried to get a part-time job here, as part of an attempt to come out of her shell. The image of the blond Vizard going anywhere, proverbial hat in hand, and meekly asking for anything taxed the assassin's imagination.

Much easier to see was the look she was sure was on Kisuke's face that day.

Shaolin would have killed to see that.

The inside of Urahara Shoten was just as unprepossessing as the outdoors; it was a simple general store, with various odds and ends. Bins filled with various candies or food stood in the center of the raised wooden floor, while shelves with more durable goods on them lined the walls. Shaolin took a moment to idly look at a T-shirt with a cat-stencil on it before turning her attention to another piece of memory.

On one side, Shaolin could see a cash register on a wooden countertop, ready and waiting for the money of customers who would only rarely come here. She walked over to it and casually examined the device, shaking her head at Ururu's luck to be in this time. A smirk appeared on her face as she again remembered her time here; she wondered if that damn abacus was still around. Knowing Kisuke-san, it was probably stuffed somewhere in the back, along with all the black market items nobody outside of Soul Society should have had.

Speaking of in back…

* * *

><p>Even as the school bell rang for end of day, the people in Arisawa Tatsuki's class were beginning file out of the room. In fact, she could see once again that Ichigo was one of the first people gone…along with one of the transfer students. She shook her head as she started to pack her school supplies into the bag Feng-sensei had gotten her a couple of years ago.<p>

Ever since that new girl had arrived, Ichigo had been acting odd. And he'd been going off to who knew where with her…a lot.

_This is gonna make things difficult, isn't it. But I gotta hand it to you Ichigo-kun, you're smooth._

"Hey, Hime-chan!"

_Smoother than _some_ people, anyway…_

"Uhm, what is it Honshou-san?"

A blood vessel stood out on Tatsuki's forehead as she realized it was going to happen again. Orihime's squeak confirmed it.

"Well, there's this neat new department store that just opened up in the shopping district, and I thought maybe we could go there and have some fun…"

Tatsuki turned around and saw what she'd expected: Chizuru had come right up behind Inoue Orihime, wrapped her arms around the ginger-haired girl, and had her hands clamped firmly on Orihime's bust.

And now the pervert was moving her hands generously over said bust.

"Uhm, that…really sounds…great, Honshou-san, but-"

"Wonderful, lets-"

Tatsuki couldn't stand by any longer.

"Take your hands off the cleavage, woman!"

Chizuru smiled evilly and shook her head.

"No way, Arisawa-san. I love Hime-chan, and I'm just expressing said love in a way that-"

"Will get you clobbered if you don't let go!"

Orihime looked distinctly uncomfortable. "C'mon, guys! Let's not fight."

Chizuru loosened her grip and little and laid her head down on Orihime's shoulder. The rapture on the red-head's face began to make Tatsuki's blood boil.

"That's what I love about my Hime-chan: she's so pure and innocent." Chizuru looked like she was thinking for a moment and then looked at Tatsuki. "You know, I don't think we should fight either, Arisawa-san. Even though you're a little butch, there's no reason we can't all be together."

She smiled brightly at Tatsuki and leered at her a little, and the brunette felt a chill go down her spine.

"How about we make it a threesome?"

Something in Tatsuki snapped, and before she knew it her right leg had left the ground. Her pelvis pivoted, and the bottom of one of her sneakers hurtled towards the red-head's face…

"Tatsuki-chan, no!"

Before Chizuru had a chance to react, Tatsuki finished a high kick she knew would make Feng-sensei proud. The shock of the blow made Chizuru fully let go of Orihime, which was technically something of a mistake; without an anchor, the red-head went flying back into the chairs behind her, landing in a heap. The other students still in the room took one look at the proceedings, one look at Tatsuki's face, and then decided to continue on with their business.

Thus it had been, thus it would always be, at Karakura High School #1…

As Tatsuki lowered her leg and got back to getting her stuff put away she couldn't help but grumble inwardly about what happened.

Why did that libertine have to pick _Orihime_ to throw herself at all the time? There were plenty of other pretty girls in the class; why choose to go after the one with a karate-champ bodyguard?

And why'd she have to do it in public? _That_ part of it was what made her skin crawl and her temper go off…

Tatsuki decided to shelve the dark thoughts and turn her attention to her friend. Orihime was shouldering her bag and looking at Tatsuki with a hint of reprimand.

"Tatsuki-chan, you didn't have to do that…"

Tatsuki rounded on the taller teenager.

"You mean you _like_ getting your boobs massaged by that lesbian?"

The other girl blushed and looked nervous. She was reverting to type, doing her yes-and-no-at-the-same-time routine again.

"Well…"

Tatsuki just sighed in disgust and shook her head.

"I swear I'm investing in a crowbar."

Orihime looked puzzled.

"A crowbar?"

Tatsuki nodded vigorously as she finished packing her things away and the two of them started out the door. Orihime just seemed to concentrate and her face became serious as a train of thought formed in her mind…

…that promptly derailed.

A deadly serious look came over Orihime.

"Tatsuki-chan, we have to help Honshou-san!"

Tatsuki stopped dead in the hallway and just stared at her friend.

Help_ her?_

"Why?"

"Because the baby Elvis clone needs to get back to the mother-ship!"

Tatsuki's mind momentarily stopped as she tried to figure out a connection between a crowbar and aliens. She just _knew_ that scientists of the future would want to study Orihime's brain to see how it worked.

_Whatever; I need to get Orihime-chan back to planet Earth…_

Tatsuki made an annoyed frown and sighed.

"Orihime-chan, I wanted the crowbar in case that pervert Chizuru ever messes with your chest again."

Orihime looked puzzled again. "Why?"

"So I can pry her off you, and then brain her for touching you like that."

Orihime looked slightly defensive, the imminent alien crisis going back to wherever it had come from.

"I don't mind that much, really, it's…"

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow.

"You say that, but I know you don't mean it. Now, if Kurosaki-san were doing something like that to you-"

"TATSUKI-CHAN!"

The brunette smiled wickedly as she saw her best friend look utterly scandalized. Her eyes were almost completely round, as was her mouth, and her skin had gone pale.

And yet there was something in Orihime's grey eyes that said she wouldn't have minded something like that happening…

"What, I was just going to say I'd give him a small head start before I tried to kill him. Unless you didn't want me to…"

As they walked down the hallway, some of the other girls seemed to catch wind of the conversation.

"He'd certainly have a lot more to work with than that Kuchiki girl."

"Isn't that the truth?"

Orihime tried to keep her expression neutral, but her cheeks were turning red.

Tatsuki sighed at her friend's delicacy. Two years with Feng-sensei had helped work some of that out, sure. But the poor girl still had something of a shell when it came to stuff like this.

Especially when it came to a certain red-haired young man they both knew…

"Okay, that's enough guys. You keep on like that, and I'll give you a Tatsuki Special."

The other girls looked at her for a moment, thought about the matter, and decided they didn't want their faces rearranged. Tatsuki and Orihime were allowed to continue with only whispers in the background to accompany them.

Orihime still looked upset, even though she was trying hard not to.

"Look, I'll shut up about it, okay?"

The girl smiled a little more easily.

"Thank you."

The two students made their way out of the school building and into the late afternoon sun.

"Man, where'd the day go?" Tatsuki looked at her watch. "If we hurry, we can get to the dojo and get some practice in."

Orihime looked confused for a moment, and then a light bulb seemed to come on in her head.

"Oh yeah, Feng-sensei is coming back today, isn't she?"

The brunette smiled at the thought.

"Yeah, I wonder what she brought home this time."

For the first time that afternoon, Orihime was the one arching an eyebrow at her friend.

"She always does bring the best stuff. Or at least she brings stuff for you." She pointed to Tatsuki's somewhat old black and gold school backpack. "You are her favorite, after all."

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow as she heard the tone in the last few words.

"I am not. I'm just her best student. And is that an actual note of jealousy I'm detecting in your voice, Orihime-chan?"

Orihime looked almost as self-conscious as when discussing Ichigo.

"Noooooo. … Maybe… Though she has a good reason. I mean…you're going to that all-Nippon tournament in a couple of months aren't you? She's got to be proud of that…"

Tatsuki noticed the unease in her friend's voice, and looked over to see Orihime looking a little sad. She figured most people would have wanted to gently comfort such a pitiful creature.

Arisawa Tatsuki wasn't one of those people.

"Get your head out of your ass, woman!" She slapped the back of Orihime's head for effect, eliciting a yelp from the girl.

"Did you see her give me the keys to the dojo? No? She opened her home to you anytime you want, Orihime-chan. And you're one of her best students…after me, of course.

"Don't ever, _ever_ think you're less capable or deserving of respect than me or anyone else! Or that Feng-sensei likes you less than me! And even if she does, who cares? Got it?"

Tatsuki fixed a glare on the other girl for a minute.

"Thank you, Tatsuki-chan." Orihime said quietly.

Then she turned around and gave Tatsuki a bear hug. Even though they were on school grounds. In the late afternoon.

With other people watching.

As soon as Orihime had let go and Tatsuki regained her balance, the brunette proceeded to clear the locale of on-lookers with a sweep of laser eyes. Then she turned her attention back to Orihime, who was smiling brightly now that her concerns were banished.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Because I wanted to."

As they continued on, Tatsuki shook her head ruefully. "Save it for Kurosaki-san, will ya? Now let's get going to the dojo."

"Yeah, let's kick each others' butts!"

Tatsuki suppressed a laugh as the two of them made their way onto the streets of Karakura.

_Another reason why she's my best friend…_

* * *

><p>Some things to mention: ShaolinSui-Feng has of course been OOC (she's had a very different history), and several other characters will be a little OOC as well (for reasons mentioned in the story). I'm going to try to keep everyone mostly in character, which means if I've blown it on Tatsuki I'm in big trouble (she's going to be a major viewpoint character as the story progresses). And hopefully my OC Hana wasn't a bomb, since we'll be seeing more of her later.

Then again, she can always be involved in a horrible accident involving a pill crusher…

As for _Naybi_'s concerns: I'll try to do better with the grammar, but make no promises (unfortunately I claim English as a primary language, so I can't use that as an excuse :). If this story gets far enough and the problems persist, I'll seriously think about a beta-reader.

And Yoruichi's hostility in the first chapter is deliberate; I plan to do a somewhat different take on the character. Don't worry, I'm not turning her into some evil witch (I would have stated so at the beginning if I was). Yoruichi and Sui-Feng simply had a very bad first meeting in the Living World, due to circumstances and their differing philosophies of life. I plan to reveal all (including the meeting itself) and hopefully it won't explode in my face like a 10-megaton nuke. This is my first story after all.


	3. A Bee in a Cave

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and _Shonen_ _Jump_. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but to give cheap entertainment to the masses.

As before, reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive, please. And flames will have to get past my family's (not-so) killer basset hound.

Thanks for the review on the last chapter Million Dollar Age. And now that I've looked on my e-mail account, I see that several people (_Summoner Yunalesca_, _Terra Incognita Novus_, _Million Dollar Age_, _Naybi_, _samantha626_, _AnonymousIsSleepy_, _E.V.I.T.,_ and _Ripley13_ that I was able to see) have taken enough interest in this story to put it on Story Alert or even Favorite Author.

On the one hand, it makes me feel great. Of course it also means I now have something of a reputation to uphold… :)

* * *

><p><em>Given some time to think on their journey back to…wherever it was, Sui-Feng had come to realize even more how stupid she'd been.<em>

_What had she been thinking, a mere seated shinigami, taking on even _one_ taichou?_

_Never mind two…_

_Now they were coming back to the cave where she'd first seen Urahara-taichou, first tried to take him, here in the Living World._

_Sui-Feng had been smart enough to know that a frontal assault was essentially suicide, and she had some idea of how powerful and skilled Urahara-taichou was. She had made her way in secret, hoping to take him by surprise while his attentions were turned on…whatever he had been working on. After taking him down, she'd make the man tell her where Yoruichi-sama was._

_Only that hadn't turned out to be necessary…_

_It was a large cave, hollowed out of the ground by who knew how much labor. Sui-Feng knew it was man-made because of the many doors and windows carved out of the sides of the place. Light was provided by numerous growths of luminescent crystals, their light blue color giving the shadows a hard edge._

_Some small part of her wondered who had built the city, and why it had been abandoned. But that could be answered later._

_Right now there was the matter of the people around her._

_She looked over to her right, where the…'Hollowfied shinigami' was what she guessed Hiyori was now…was still trudging along._

_The mask only had eyeholes, with no means of expression beyond that. But the girl's slumped shoulders and slow walk was all Sui-Feng needed to know Hiyori's state of mind._

_She was probably wondering what was going to happen to her._

_Just like Sui-Feng._

"_Are you all right…Sarugaki-fuku-taichou?"_

_She didn't answer, only cringing at the mention of the title._

"_Do you _think_ she's all right?"_

_The arch answer made Sui-Feng look at her mistress._

_Yoruichi-sama was still walking resolutely forward, deeper into the cave. She seemed to be trying to ignore them as much as possible._

_The sight made Sui-Feng feel something she never thought she would for this woman._

_She was actually a little mad at Yoruichi-sama._

"_I didn't mean it like that, and you know it, Shihouin-taichou."_

_The older woman stopped._

_Everyone else did the same._

"_It's not _taichou_ anymore. Not for me and not for Kisuke here. We're both exiles from now on, stripped of our titles and position by those bastards in the Central 46. So please start being more informal with us, Feng-san."_

_So the rumors _had_ been true. The young shinigami's mind reeled with the idea._

"_Another thing: do not think Kisuke or I owe you anything, woman."_

Woman?

"_I can sense the surprise in your reiatsu."_

_Yoruichi-sama turned to look at Sui-Feng, yellow eyes as baleful as any Hollow's. Despite herself, and the fact the older woman wasn't exerting her reiatsu, the younger shinigami started to cringe._

_She could see that Urahara had turned to look at them all, his face showing concern._

"_Yoruichi-"_

"_No, Kisuke, she needs to hear this."_

_He turned away a little, and the woman turned her attention again to Sui-Feng._

"_You come here, dressed in the outfit of the Onmitsukidou, and try to attack my friend in their name. When we're fugitives? And you expect me to greet you with open arms?"_

_Sui-Feng was shocked; she hadn't even thought about that._

"_I didn't…Yoruichi-sama, I…"_

_The senior noblewoman arched an eyebrow._

"_I wasn't thinking…I'm sorry…"_

"_So you admit you're useless as well as incompetent."_

_Sui-Feng's jaw dropped and she looked at the former taichou with undiluted shock. She could feel tears begin to form in her eyes._

"_I thought…I thought you liked me…"_

_Her near-whisper still carried well in the cave; Yoruichi-sama definitely heard her because the woman rolled her eyes at the words._

"_I do like you, Sui-Feng. Very much, in fact."_

_Now Sui-Feng was totally confused._

"_But that alone does not make you my friend."_

* * *

><p>Shaolin hadn't cared much for caves since that day.<p>

But in this case, she'd make an exception; she didn't want Soul Society seeing what she had. Who knew what those…'people' would do.

Now that she was inside the training cavern that Kisuke had built under his shop, it wasn't so bad. The walls and ceiling had been…she wanted to say 'painted', but the blue daytime sky and white clouds floating overhead looked too real, like the craggy rock floor that reminded her of a desert.

In fact, if it weren't for the ladder leading up into the 'sky' and the very small hole in the now distant ceiling, she could have sworn she _was_ in a desert somewhere and not underground.

Certainly not like that city buried in the mountains to the north; she had no wish to ever go there again, even though by now she had learned what it had once been.

Shaolin shook her head to get it back into the present. She had come here to this cavern to conduct business, not to reminisce.

She looked over to where Hana was currently exercising the gigai; Shaolin figured it was more than safe here, and the gikongan did need to practice with her…

The ex-shinigami was pretty sure Ryuuken-san and the other Quincy called it 'Seele Schneider', but she just thought of it as a reishi-arrow; Shaolin didn't want to know where this one had come from. Hana was currently using the one in her hands as a sword, twirling it around and making chopping and swinging motions with it as she integrated it into her own martial arts routine.

"Feeling any better?"

Hana swung the 'sword' around in an arc.

"Yes, very much so, thank you." After a moment more, she seemed to think of something. "Do you think the new model will be ready anytime soon?"

Shaolin thought about it a moment, and then turned back to the bag and shrugged.

"Wouldn't know, but if you break that gigai I swear I'll stuff you in a plushie."

Shaolin smiled gamely as she made the threat, and smiled a little more when she heard Hana's startled gasp.

"Back from another world tour, I see?"

A man's voice, higher-pitched than Tessai's, made Shaolin turn behind her quickly; she had thankfully gotten beyond the stage of yelping every time the former taichou did that.

"Kisuke-san."

He was a tall man, dressed more than a little out of style in modern Karakura, light green pants and shirt covered by a darker green robe. A green and white striped bucket hat covered some of the unruly mop of blond hair on his head, and she could see the ever-present paper fan already in his right hand, to be used at a moment's notice.

And right now Hana's 'sword' was within a hair's-breadth of skewering the creator of this cave. The mod soul realized what she'd almost done and quickly lowered the offending weapon, a look of embarrassment on her face.

Kisuke smiled roguishly – she wasn't sure he could do any other kind – and tipped his hat.

"Nice move, Hana-chan, but you might want to be a little more careful with that thing in the future. I'd really like it if I didn't get killed today."

"Uhm, yes jii-sama. Sorry."

Kisuke looked like he was about to say something, and then simply shook his head and turned his attention to the other ex-shinigami.

"Shaolin-chan, I'm glad as always to see you came back in one piece. But did you have to come all the way down here? I mean, the shop's a much nicer place to conduct business…unless you wanted to get a little sparring in?" He pointed at the still-embarrassed Hana.

Shaolin made a show of considering that offer. Actually, she wouldn't have minded, even though it had been a long trip back home. Even so…

She shook her head. "Sorry, I don't have time today."

Kisuke affected a pained expression, throwing a hand over his heart for effect.

"'No time for me', she says. What has happened to our relationship, Shaolin-chan?"

"Nothing. I'm just too serious, and you're not serious enough." She smiled as she began looking through the bag for her second 'gift' that day.

"In fact, you, Hirako-san and Hiyori should get together and take that act on the road. 'Three Stupid-Looking Blond People' would probably be a hit."

For a moment, Shaolin could feel the former taichou's indignation and Hana's shock, and then she felt concern from Kisuke.

"How has Sarugaki-san been?"

"My buddy's fine, I guess…"

Kisuke raised an eyebrow.

"Your _buddy_?" He shook his head a little. "You two have become that close? Without killing each other? Call me skeptical…"

"You're right about that," Hana chimed in.

Shaolin waved them off.

"I'll call you whatever I like, especially since I got a present for you."

Kisuke sounded like he was ignoring the jab, though it was a moment before he continued.

"Is Sarugaki-san still doing the part-time jobs circuit?"

"No, I think she may actually have found something permanent this time. Actually, I think it suits her pretty well."

The younger ex-shinigami pulled out a small box and closed up the bag. She turned to see Kisuke looking at her expectantly and pointing at the object in her hands.

"Is that what you came all the way down here for?"

"Yes, and we are sure you are going to like it, jii-sama."

Ignoring Hana, Shaolin walked over to the man and handed him the box. He looked at it for a moment, and then looked at her while pointing to it.

"Aw, you shouldn't have. So…what is it?"

Shaolin made a non-committal shrug and the mod soul offered no information, which only made Kisuke look at the object even closer.

"Something Hiyori picked up on. It comes courtesy of one of those soul suckers."

Kisuke arched an eyebrow. "You don't say…"

He opened the box, made a show of peering deeply into it for a minute, and then looked at Shaolin again.

"Uhm… You've got some interesting priorities, woman. You leave your gigai up there in the open," he pointed towards the ceiling, "to give poor Hanakari-kun grief." He pointed towards the interior of the box. "And you come all the way down here for… Okay, I give up, what _is_ this?"

"Try to touch it."

"Shaolin, no!"

The former taichou, skepticism on his face, ignored Hana and did as he was told. A moment later he flung his hand back and dropped the box, a piece of metal slag coming out and rolling on the ground. Kisuke made a great show of waving his finger around and putting it in his mouth to cool it, while Hana just looked daggers at her partner.

"Seki-seki rock?" he said around his finger.

Shaolin nodded.

"Worked into the metal."

"We don't know what they were trying to make," Hana added. "We just know it was one of the Bounto and they were making it for someone else."

"Of course," Shaolin finished, "they won't be making anything for anybody again."

Kisuke nodded his face now serious. He turned to the rocks behind him.

"Jinta-kun, see about this, will you?"

"Right away, boss!"

The red-headed boy seemed to come out of nowhere, Ururu trailing meekly behind him. Jinta spared a passing look of fear for Shaolin and Hana before picking up the offending piece of metal and putting it back in its container. Then he joined his compatriot at their masters' side.

Kisuke unfolded his fan and looked at Shaolin.

"Now that that's over…is there anything else you two lovely ladies need?"

Hana blushed a little as Shaolin thought.

"I need you to look at the gigai later; I kind of banged it up a little."

"Oh I'll be _happy_ to look that thing over, Shaolin-chan."

Shaolin looked at Kisuke's smile and shook her head."

"I'm sure you will. I'll also need some kioku chikan-"

"Uhm, we're out but we'll get a…new…"

Ururu suddenly looked worried and Jinta glared at her.

"You idiot, you weren't supposed to say anything!"

Ururu looked like she was about to cry now, while Kisuke looked a little…worried himself, even as he put his hand on the girl to comfort her.

Hana gave Shaolin a look, and the ex-shinigami returned it. Now she just needed to play the game…

She put on an incredulous smile.

"Kisuke-san…you had a customer recently?"

He looked at her and shrugged dramatically.

"It's been known to happen…"

Hana shook her head in mock-wonder.

"The pillars of Heaven shake at the news."

He waved the comment away with his fan.

"Oh, come on…"

_All right, enough with the games…_

"It was the new shinigami wasn't it?"

Kisuke kept the smile plastered on his face, but Shaolin could tell that he was suddenly uncomfortable.

"What makes you say that?"

She waved her hand around to indicate not just the cave, but the store above it.

"Who else would come here to buy…anything?"

Kisuke looked like he was going to come up with a snappy retort about his shop; though he never showed it, Shaolin knew Kisuke was quite proud of this place he'd created. But instead his face fell a little and he looked away from her.

"I'd …rather not talk about it, Shaolin-chan…"

_Damn, they put the squeeze on you, didn't they Kisuke-san? Not good._

"All right, I won't ask."

Kisuke immediately looked more relaxed. The smiled returned just a little, but it was still nervous.

"Damn moocher."

Now Jinta was having the loose tongue; Kisuke just looked at him.

"What, she was a real moocher, paying with credit and everything."

Ururu had gotten out of her funk and was nodding her head in agreement.

"Yeah, she was a moocher."

Shaolin exchanged a look with Hana. _Those poor kids are going to be doing a lot of extra housework for a while, aren't they?_

"So she's been assigned here? She isn't passing through?"

Kisuke sighed and nodded his head; he looked seriously at Shaolin.

"Yeah, she's going to be here a while, so keep your head down, okay?"

Shaolin thought about that for a moment and then shook her head.

"I can't do that, Kisuke-san. Karakura is my home, and I mean to protect it."

Kisuke looked more than a little unnerved; Hana looked like she wanted to roll her eyes.

"Shaolin-chan-"

"Do they know about the Magic Marble?"

Kisuke's expression shifted to one of insulted pride.

"I'll have you know that that 'marble' is one of the greatest scientific achievements of my career..."

"…which was cut short by it; and the Marble is why we're all here in the first place. Is it safe?"

The former taichou looked like he was going to continue, but he thought better of it.

"The Hogyoku is fine, Shaolin-chan. I…put it in a safe place; nothing will happen to it."

Shaolin thought about it, and then decided not to press the matter; the Magic Marble was his baby, after all. If he said it was safe, then she was willing to believe him.

"Have the Hollows come here?"

Now Kisuke was looking a little irritated. Well, it couldn't be helped.

"No, they haven't. At least not yet; and believe me we're well prepared if they do."

"Good. I'll be heading over to the Kurosakis after I go home-"

"Shaolin-chan, look-"

"No, you look." Shaolin glared at the former taichou. "Never mind the Vizards and us, there's a shitload of people in this town with high reiatsu, and plenty of spirits who don't know a thing about the Hollows."

Hana nodded. "And it has to be considered low-priority by Soul Society since there hasn't been any Hollow activity in the last what…16 years or so?"

Kisuke sighed.

"And you're especially worried about the Kurosakis?"

Shaolin took a moment, and then nodded.

"Most of them are probably okay, but…"

"Let me guess…Kurosaki Ichigo-san?"

She looked at the shop owner, and even though she was still sad, she hardened her expression with determination.

"I need to do something for him-"

Kisuke held his hand up, and when she quieted looked Shaolin in the eyes. There was a sad expression on his face, almost like that first day they'd met in the Living World.

"Shaolin-chan, Kurosaki Masaki-san wasn't your fault…"

Shaolin felt a surge of righteous fury begin to build in her.

"I know that; and I know Sokken-san wasn't my fault either. It was _their_ fault."

Kisuke and his charges flinched a little at the venom in Shaolin's words.

"You know, you really need to let that go, Shaolin-chan… The people in Soul Society aren't _that_ bad…"

Shaolin could have been fooled. After some of the things she'd seen happen over the last few years… But Kisuke did have a point.

At least about the _non_-shinigami…

"Yeah, I guess they occasionally do something listed in their official 'Why We're the Good Guys' book."

Kisuke looked like he was going to respond to the arch answer, but Shaolin held up her hand in surrender.

"Look, I don't want to get into a fight with you over this, Kisuke-san. We'll…try my best not to make too big of a mess around here."

"But we can't make any promises," Hana added. "You know us…"

Kisuke looked mollified at this, but he also looked very glad that Isshin and Ryuuken were both retired.

"I guess I'll have to just accept that," he said smiling again. "But I really do need to know what's going on with Sarugaki-san. I mean, she's almost as bad as you are with getting into trouble."

Hana spoke for Shaolin.

"I called Hiyori-san before we got here. She said this doesn't concern her."

"What?"

"Relax, Kisuke-san." Shaolin gave the former taichou a slight smile. "Hiyori's not even in Karakura right now."

That seemed to peak Kisuke's interest rather than worry him.

"Well, where is she?"

"Where's Yoruichi-sama?"

Kisuke just hid his face behind the fan again, but before he could answer Jinta piped up.

"We haven't seen her, lady."

Ururu nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Shihouin-sama hasn't been in here in months."

Shaolin processed that. "Well, if you do hear from her, let me know."

"You want to try again with her, is that it?"

Shaolin nodded.

"Yeah, I do."

She turned and made her way to where Hana was standing. The mod soul looked disappointed, but she let Shaolin merge with the body without incident. The ex-shinigami put the gikongan away and proceeded to pick up her bag.

"Hey, we told you about Yoruichi; now what about Sarukgaki-san?"

Shaolin thought about that for a minute, and then smiled at the former taichou.

"I don't have to tell you that."

"Aw, c'mon!"

Shaolin's smile grew a little at the exaggerated face Kisuke made.

"No, seriously, just walk down the street. You'll see what she's up to, no problem."

Shaolin looked at her wristwatch, ignoring the mystified look on Kisuke's face.

"I have to run now; I am going to be talking to Isshin-san about his son, Kisuke-san. This isn't something that can be put off any longer. And you can tell him whatever you want before I get there. You always do."

Shaolin turned around and started for the ladder to the surface when she saw Ururu standing before her. The ex-shinigami had never heard of a human knowing shunpo, but this girl made her wonder sometimes…

"What is it, Tsumugiya-san?"

Ururu hesitated, as though she was thinking better of bothering Shaolin. It was just one of the girl's quirks, Shaolin figured, but it was still irritating.

"Uhm, would you not do that again?"

The ex-shinigami looked at the girl curiously, and then realized what she was talking about.

"You mean cause a ruckus around the store?"

Ururu gave a sober nod.

"Yeah… I'd have to do something about that."

Shaolin smiled and leaned in a little to Ururu, a feral gleam in her eyes.

"You mean a fight? You and me?"

The girl nodded.

"Fine, I think I'd actually like to spar one of these days."

Ururu nodded again, the mopey look on her face unchanged. But there was a twinkle deep in her eyes – surprise, and maybe a little trepidation – that said she was eager for the fight in her own way.

_Maybe she isn't a lost cause after all…_

* * *

><p>It was early summer in the Soul Society, a pleasant time of year even though the long days interfered with some of the taichou's duties. Still, it gave him time to spend in his flower garden and contemplate current matters.<p>

It wasn't a large affair, just a plot of land carefully planted and tended with flowers and a tree or two for shade. Of course, it was also something of a test; most didn't realize the flowers were the same ones representing the various Bantai of the Goteijuusantai. Those people who did notice the symbolism bore more watching than normal.

In any case, the garden mostly gave the taichou a sense of power and control; he could pretend that he held some form of rein over the other Bantai. It relaxed him in the face of the more chaotic and unfortunate reality.

A few minutes into his contemplation, and he felt the presence of the 3rd and 4th Seats of 2-Bantai appear behind him. The taichou didn't have to be told that the large man and his smaller female companion, both dressed in the black of the Onmitsukidou, were on their knees; it was simply assumed as a matter of course.

They would have wanted to commit seppuku otherwise.

The taichou didn't bother to turn around; he simply continued to casually gaze at his garden as he addressed them.

"I take it you have good news?"

The male figure nodded and spoke first.

"Yes, taichou; it took a little while, but we've found her. She seems to have made contact with Urahara Kisuke."

The taichou processed that for a moment.

"That's interesting… Has she done anything else?"

The woman shook her head, even as she kept it lowered to the ground.

"No, taichou; the target hasn't done anything we think worthy of attention. But we have someone watching her nonetheless."

The taichou thought about that a moment, and then turned around to face his subordinates.

"Send some agents to confront her. I'd like to stir the pot a little and see what happens. But make sure it doesn't get traced back to us; I don't want a scandal just yet."

The two figures nodded as one.

"At once, taichou."

A moment later and they were gone. The taichou turned his attention back to the flowerbed for a moment, but he was soon looking not at flowers but at something beyond the horizon.

His fuku-taichou was looking into another matter, though he figured he already knew what her report would look like. One more of his pieces had been removed from the board.

"Shihouin Yoruichi…I wonder how this little game will play out…"

* * *

><p>For those of you who are wondering:<p>

No, the Bounts won't be making an on-screen appearance. (Admit it: some of you are saying 'Thank Heavens for that!')

And yes, it'll be a while, but Sui-Feng and Tatsuki will be running into Hiyori later in the story…


	4. A Bee and Bone Masks

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and _Shonen_ _Jump_. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but because I like doing this.

As before, reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive, please. And flames will used to roast marshmallows and make s'mores.

No reviews since 6/5/11, but that's okay. I have some more people going Story Alert and/or Favorite Author; in this case it's _The Kataklyst_, _Neo Juubi no Ryu_, _Nexus the 13__th_, _unweymexicano_ and _DarkScyther_. Welcome aboard, people, I hope I don't wind up disappointing!

And now we have a little fighting for our heroines (after all, Bleach is an 'action' series)...

* * *

><p>Tatsuki hadn't expected to see the new transfer student again that day, and certainly not in what was almost literally the middle of Karakura. But as she and Orihime made their way in the late afternoon rush of people and traffic, she could definitely see Kuchiki Rukia running down the sidewalk near an old shrine while messing with her cell-phone.<p>

And Ichigo was nowhere to be seen...

Tatsuki couldn't help but smirk at the sight.

_What, honey, you scare your new boyfriend off?_

Maybe, just maybe, the two of them could avoid the short girl, if Orihime didn't notice-

"Oh, hey Kuchiki-san; what are you doing here?"

_Well, so much for that small hope._

Rukia stopped dead and turned her head up, and Tatsuki couldn't help but note the confused and startled look on the new girl's face. It only lasted a second before Rukia put on a beaming smile, but it got Tatsuki's attention.

_New girl trying to get somewhere in a hurry and thought she was all alone, and not in a bad way... Okay, what are you up to little Miss Kuchiki, and what does it have to do with Ichigo?_

"Oh, hi there Inoue-san...and...uhm..."

"Arisawa...Arisawa Tatsuki...nice to meet you..._again_."

"Sorry about that. I'll try to make sure I remember it from now on."

Rukia was making a point of looking embarrassed at not knowing her other visitor's name. Which kind of tweaked Tatsuki; after all, if Ichigo was going out with this girl, the least he could have done was tell her the name of his oldest friend.

_Oh well, it doesn't matter I guess; but still..._

"Uhm, Kuchiki-san, wasn't Kurosaki-kun with you when you left school?"

_Thank you, Orihime-chan..._

Rukia looked even more uncomfortable, as though she didn't want to say anything for fear of looking foolish. But there was something real to her discomfort this time...

_You really don't want us to know, do you? In fact, you really want us to go away so you can do...whatever..._

"Well, you see, Ichigo had to take care of some business and..."

"...he left you by the side of the road; how romantic."

Orihime turned towards Tatsuki at the arch answer.

"Tatsuki-chan, that's just rude. I mean you heard her: when a guy's got to go, he's got to go."

Tatsuki looked down towards the shrine and sighed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I shouldn't have been like that. Please forgive me, Kuchiki-san."

"You're forgiven."

_Peasant_: there was something in Rukia's words just now that made Tatsuki's mind tack that one to the end, and she couldn't help but feel her blood start to boil a little. The girl was trying to hide it but...

_You think you're hot shit, don't you Miss Kuchiki? ... Calm down...Orihime-chan seems to like this girl...so don't blow up on her..._

Tatsuki internally took in a calming breath and let it out, and then tried to rack her brain to figure a way for her and Orihime to gracefully exit. She could see that the ginger-haired teen was looking at her funny.

"Tatsuki-chan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Tatsuki wasn't sure herself what was going on. Lately she'd been having little bouts of...'intuition' was all she could call it. And right now there was something about Rukia and what she was doing that made Tatsuki uncomfortable, something that made her feel Ichigo was in trouble...

Maybe it was just the presence of a shrine Ichigo had avoided the past half decade...

"Calling your friends back home about the shinigami shrine, Kuchiki-san?"

Tatsuki heard the cheery question from Orihime and quickly looked towards the shorter student to see her reaction. She was still about as peppy-looking as Orihime and still wanted to be on her way, but there was something in Rukia's eyes that said she was surprised about the nature of the shrine.

Tatsuki had been here plenty of times before; it was simply a stone pillar set in a small patch of grass, with a space out front for offerings and incense. It was no big deal, since nobody came here except to keep the place clean.

Rukia shook her head in apparent wonder and pointed at the object of conversation.

"Who would build a shrine to...well...?"

"...a death god?"

Orihime's cheery answer seemed to momentarily stun Rukia.

_Didn't like that answer, did you?_

Orihime continued, oblivious to Rukia's reaction.

"I don't know who would build something like that. But it's been around for a long time, hasn't it Tatsuki-chan?"

Tatsuki nodded.

"It's almost a local landmark, though nobody wants to talk about it. Actually, if you're really interested I think Ishida-san's family was the one that erected it. Good luck getting that iceberg to tell you anything, though."

Rukia arched an eyebrow.

"I think I could warm him up."

_I bet you could..._

"How about warming us up first?"

_Oh, crap..._

Tatsuki could hear the sound of motorcycles and a number of screams from around them as said bikes came up way to fast, and then went right up to the curb. She turned around fast enough to see...yup, it was some jerks from the White Tengu...parking their half dozen bikes and getting off them to begin swaggering towards their next victims.

She couldn't shake her head hard enough at the sight of them.

_Seriously, where the hell did these guys come from, Central Casting?_

All of them wore the long overcoat, open in the front to show taped up chests, all of them wore surgical masks to hide their faces, and all of them had their hair in greased up pompadours. The only real difference was in their height and builds, and the effect was of some Elvis competition gone wrong.

But there was nothing comical about their movements, or the fact that they were looking at the three girls as their next 'kill'.

At that moment, Orihime decided to turn around to face the approaching threat, and the bikers stopped and gawked as one at the sight.

_Oh gods..._

"Hey, would you look at that!"

"Whoo-hoo!"

"Not baaaad!"

_Oh, for crying out loud..._

"Hey, Hiroshi, you want that one? She's _stacked_!"

While the other boys – Tatsuki now refused to call them 'men' – laughed at the crude remark, a tall, lanky biker came up to Orihime with a more controlled, appraising look in his eye. 'Hiroshi' looked a now-visibly worried Orihime up and down, while Rukia just stood her ground, apparently not wanting to start a fight herself.

_If that asshole makes Orihime cry..._

"Hey, baby...you're looking good...looking _very_ good."

"Well, uhm...thank you, I-"

Tatsuki looked and noticed that Rukia was trying hard to edge her way out of the area. At least until Hiroshi and a couple of the bousouzoku noticed and made eye contact with her.

"And where do you think you're going, little lady?"

Even as Tatsuki saw Rukia silently swear, 'Hiroshi' turned to his friends and waved his arm to include everyone present. Among them was the idiot with a length of chain who was getting entirely too close to Tatsuki for his own good.

"Gentlemen, how about we show these fine ladies a good time?"

The rest of the bousouzoku shouted in the affirmative.

Tatsuki was unimpressed and showed it.

"What, you boys are going to take us on a ride through the city? Well beat it, before you get your butts kicked!"

The bikers showed their own lack of respect for Tatsuki's words, and she could see Rukia and Orihime's resolve begin to build. Orihime faced down – or up, as the case was – Hiroshi and set herself.

"Yeah...Yeah! Get out of here!"

A bit of a smile came over Rukia's lips, something that reminded Tatsuki of her.

"Or come on, and see if all you tough guys can take on a bunch of girls."

_I guess that girl's tougher than she looks..._

Hiroshi just shook his head sadly and started walking away from the girls a safe distance, and then waved his 'men' forward.

"Guys, kick their pretty little asses."

The other five gang members started forward, and the one with the chain swung his weapon at Tatsuki. To his utter surprise, she caught the weapon and let it wrap itself around her forearm. She grimaced at the pain of iron through her school uniform while she looked to make sure Rukia and Orihime were readying themselves for the onslaught.

Then Tatsuki turned back to the biker and gave him a feral smile. She could already feel her blood begin to sing...

"Let's see how many of you martial arts extras _we_ can kick ass on."

* * *

><p><em>"You know, I've been having a few thoughts about our new friend from the Soul Society."<em>

"I take it it's not a pretty picture?"

_"Probably about as pretty as what is in front of you right now."_

Even as she listened to Hana's words through the earphone, Shaolin kept her eyes on the massive Hollow in front of her. The thing had just come through a rift in the air a minute or so before, and the assassin had only just had enough time to throw her bag aside and pull the reishi 'sword' before the beast sized her up for a fight.

Several meters behind her on the small grassy field was the mother and son Pluses the Hollow had almost certainly come after. Both of them were obviously terrified, but they were staying put, the mother holding and trying to comfort her boy. Shaolin appreciated that as she tried to get an appraisal of her opponent; she hated it when a Plus tried to run or 'help' her.

The Hollow was a sort of humanoid, maybe the size of an elephant, walking mostly on all fours though it had hands and razor spines on its forelimbs. Its green-blue skin was offset by the obligatory bone white mask and gaping black hole in its 'chest'.

"Let me in on your dazzling insight, Hana."

_And I'll try to kill this bastard while I'm in my gigai._

Shaolin actually didn't mind fighting Hollows in her gigai; it would make Kisuke and the Vizards less nervous, so there was that to consider. But it also made things more interesting.

Creatures like the Hollow before her had become so boring after she'd achieved bankai...

_"Well, we know the shinigami is a 'she'; we are under the assumption that whoever this is has been stationed here as opposed to just passing through-"_

The Hollow roared some sort of battle cry and began to charge at Shaolin. She merely held the sword like she would her zanpaktou, the blade along her arm as though she were holding a long knife.

"We also know whoever it is pressured Kisuke-san for something, probably grey or black market stuff."

_"Yes, and they bought it on credit; you heard the children back there."_

"Yeah, when _Tsumugiya-chan_ calls someone a 'moocher' you know they're a deadbeat."

As soon as the beast came in front of Shaolin, it raised one of its forelimbs and tried to 'backhand' her with its razors. The assassin almost rolled her eyes as she whipped her blade around level with the monster's 'skin', slicing along the front of the thing's arm as she ducked her body out of the way. Behind her, she could hear the Pluses crying out in terror.

Natural armor met vibrating spiritual energy and lost big time; the blade sliced through the spines like paper and they soon dissolved, consumed by the blade as though it were itself a Hollow.

Even as the creature's arm finished its arc through the air, Shaolin swept the blade around and gave the thing a good cut across the forearm. The Hollow shrieked in pain and fell on its elbows as it tried to clasp the bleeding wounds with its good arm.

Shaolin shook her head; this was too easy. Maybe the others Hana had detected would be more sporting. As it was, the two Pluses had nothing to fear today.

"_I am pretty sure we are dealing with a noblewoman, probably one of the High Clans."_

"How so?"

Shaolin let the Hollow wallow in misery for a moment more, and then ran towards the mask that was its face.

_"Jii-sama is from a noble family and was the head of the 3__rd__ Division of the Stealth Force. Not someone who could be easily intimidated."_

The Hollow seemed to realize the danger it was in and began to try and get up again.

_Too late..._

"You couldn't tell me which _–ke_ Mystery Girl might be from, Hana?"

Shaolin avoided the arms of the Hollow as she approached her target. Then, to the creature's utter shock, the ex-shinigami grabbed hold of the bottom of one eye-socket and launched herself upward.

_"I doubt she is from the Shihouin-ke; no one there would want to face the _Shunshin's_ wrath."_

"Unless they think Yoruichi-sama has reincarnated."

Almost before the Hollow could move, Shaolin let go of the mask and let her body's momentum throw her up and onto the back of the beast.

_"Her purchasing something on credit also fits with this person being a noble."_

The Hollow was trying frantically to throw Shaolin off, but she was having none of it. She raised the reishi sword and drove it to the 'hilt' into the creature's spine, causing the Hollow to give out another deafening roar.

"Yeah, Kisuke-san is a nice man, but he's not a charity worker; he'd have to know he could collect from someone."

As the Hollow's now-limp body crashed to the ground Shaolin raised her other hand and 'materialized' Suzumebachi. The wakizashi gleamed in the late afternoon sun, and then Shaolin drove the blade through the Hollow's cranium.

"_Whoever this person is and depending on whether they have enough 'pull' to be assigned anything expensive or sensitive, I'm inclined to believe they are non-seated and a rule-breaker, or a seated dimwit."_

Shaolin smirked at that last word, even as she pulled her swords from the now-disintegrating corpse of the Hollow.

"So they either got it and broke it-"

Shaolin jumped to the ground and walked a little away from the site of the Hollow's death.

"-or they didn't get it but wanted it anyway. Wonderful."

The two ghosts she had been protecting were now looking at Shaolin like she was some sort of superhero.

"Are you two all right?"

They both nodded.

"Well, stay there; this isn't over."

Even as she said the words, the sky over the field began to distort again. It was two rifts, not one, and Shaolin began to brace herself.

_Maybe _these_ guys won't be so pathetic..._

"So, Hana, what do you think the newbie-"

_"Who is not around while this is happening?"_

Two insect-like Hollows had emerged from...wherever their kind traveled to get to the Living World and were starting to size her up. One looked much like a giant mantis, the only difference being its humanoid face mask; the other looked like a scorpion that someone had forgotten to give pincers to.

Shaolin sighed in irritation.

"Yeah, that. What do you think she got Kisuke-san to 'loan' to her?"

The ex-shinigami sometimes felt pity for the Hollows; they were just the corrupted remains of dead humans and animals, and had never consciously chosen to be monsters. It was the reason many of them weren't much of a challenge: it was like taking people off the street, handing them weapons, and throwing them into a gladiatorial arena.

But some had gotten a little beyond that. There was something in this pair of Hollows' movements that said they were working as a team; one point being the fact that they were slowly working their way to opposite sides of her.

_"Most likely it was a gigai, maybe even one of jii-sama's reiatsu-blocking models."_

"I wouldn't be surprised, looking at what we're coming up with."

Shaolin kept her eye on the two Hollows; the mantis had moved in front of her and was being careful to keep a safe distance, while the scorpion had moved in behind her. She almost wanted to shake her head in amusement; these guys were better than the last one, but they seemed to be ignoring the mother and child for now, and she already figured what the Hollows were going to do.

She could concentrate on the discussion with Hana without too many problems.

"So you think this girl actually intends to do any Reaping, or do you think she's playing sightseer?"

_"... Shaolin, jii-sama was not lying when he said the Gotei 13 is not all bad. Remember, I have had bad experiences with them, as well."_

"You haven't had a century's worth, Hana. I could tell stories..."

The mantis-Hollow roared a challenge and began advancing; Shaolin could feel the urge from Hana to try mock-roaring a challenge of her own. The creature raised its forelimbs and then began swinging them in what would have looked like an attack, but which the assassin knew was just a diversion. The scorpion-Hollow was standing back, behind Shaolin, readying its tail.

"And Karakura was such a nice place..."

The mantis swung at Shaolin's head; she dodged...

_"There _has_ been almost no Hollow activity in the area for a decade and a half."_

...a swipe at the gut; she leaped back...

_"Karakura would be considered a plum assignment."_

...an upward swipe across the chest; Shaolin flung herself out of the way and rolled for a couple of meters before coming back up to her feet.

"Or a backwater; I knew a lot of shinigami who liked a 'good fight'."

_"Either way, it would be a great place to put someone who was well-connected and either a troublemaker or an incompetent."_

Shaolin nodded as she faced down the mantis-Hollow again; she was pretty sure it and its partner were going to do it now. And she became totally sure as the thing began swinging its forelimbs around in a major distraction.

Then Shaolin began to feel something that _did_ distract her...

"Hana, do you feel that?"

_"You mean that shinigami presence in the distance? Maybe we should wrap this up quickly, then; it would seem our new friend has managed to get up off her ass."_

It sometimes unnerved Shaolin that Hana could sense shinigami as well as Hollows. Not quite as well, of course, but it still said something about the gikongan, something the assassin was too politic to ask about.

After all, she had her own secrets...

The scorpion-Hollow was coming up silently behind Shaolin, getting in a certain range before it would attack. The assassin never minded it; as far as she was concerned, this fight was over. What was more interesting was the new reiatsu she could sense.

Whoever it belonged to was very powerful, but not terribly well-trained; the energies Shaolin could feel were still wild and primal for the most part, with only the most rudimentary shape or form.

"Great, little miss rich bitch probably doesn't even know which end of her zanpaktou to hold."

_"What was that?"_

"Nothing."

Shaolin might have been distracted, but it wasn't enough for her to not notice the mantis lift its forelimbs and its body up into something like a lean-to. And there was something in its eyes...

_Now._

Shaolin threw herself onto her back, even as the scorpion thrust its massive tail forward. The appendage surged over the ex-shinigami and then through the 'tunnel' made by its partner's body to almost lodge into the ground.

As she landed on the ground, Shaolin wondered what the new kid was doing.

"Hana, how fast is that shinigami presence coming toward us?"

Shaolin quickly rolled to the side towards the mantis' legs, even as the two Hollows took a moment to realize that their quarry wasn't skewered. She activated the reishi sword and then swung in an arc, slicing through one of the mantis' right legs and making the beast howl in pain.

_"...Not very...what the hell are they doing...?"_

Even as she heard Hana's words, Shaolin continued the roll and threw the sword at the mantis's other right-hand leg. The aerodynamic blade – really a misused arrow – found its mark, and the beast now began to topple to the ground as both legs on one side were gone.

Shaolin continued rolling until she had cleared the two Hollows; the scorpion wasn't so nimble, and found its tail pinned as the mantis crashed to the ground. As the assassin picked herself up she could hear the screams of fear and frustration coming from her enemies as they tried desperately to untangle themselves.

Shaolin could sympathize with her enemies' feelings; the shinigami was taking her sweet time getting there...

"That bitch isn't using shunpo, is she?"

_"Probably not, and that means..."_

She materialized Suzumebachi and ran back towards the Hollows; even now, the mantis' legs were beginning to regenerate and the scorpion was starting to pull free through use of main strength.

"Gods, she doesn't even take Reaping seriously, does she?"

Shaolin went to the scorpion, righteous anger fueling her as she hauled herself up its body, and then onto its tail even as that appendage finally started to pull free of confinement. Running along the moving tail like it was a treadmill, the ex-shinigami made for the mantis' face.

_Lazy, good-for-nothing, gods-damned, corrupt _bastards_..._

The creature realized what was going on, could see the instrument of its 'death' in her hands, and moved its forelimbs in front of it in a vain attempt to shield itself.

_...sending in some worthless _nobody_..._

Shaolin leapt over and through the blockade, thrusting her zanpaktou forward and putting her entire weight behind the blade. Even as the Hollow screamed defiance, Suzumebachi pierced the center of the creature's mask, and then shattered it to pieces.

_Well, if they won't protect this place, I _will_._

Shaolin quickly pulled her blade free, thankful that her gigai had been built with an overpod gikongan in mind. Turning so as not to see who the Hollow might have been in life, she focused her attention away from the now dissolving mantis and onto its partner.

As she did, something occurred to her: the new shinigami had a familiar feel...a familiar scent...

She slashed the blade down and across the scorpion's tail, cutting through the appendage cleanly, and then back-flipped off it.

_Ichigo-kun?_

Coming to the ground a moment later, she could see the last of the mantis-Hollow turning into luminous nothing, while the scorpion was trying to come to grips with the loss of its partner and its weapon.

Shaolin almost ignored that as she focused on the still-incoming reiatsu. Whoever it was had a feel very much like Kurosaki Ichigo, though when she focused more on it she found that the signature was only similar to his.

Even though the tail was beginning to regenerate, the Hollow realized it had lost. The air behind it began to distort, and a rift began to form as the Hollow made some vain attempt not to get killed before it could leave the Living World.

Shaolin didn't care; the thing was dead anyway. She was more interested in figuring out the newcomer and who they might be. If their reiatsu was similar to Ichigo's...maybe they were from the Shiba-ke?

_Now I _really_ need to talk to Isshin-san..._

The Hollow roared once again as the rift fully opened; perhaps it was some form of 'I'll be back'. Shaolin didn't care – it was an opening.

She pulled her arm back and hurled her zanpaktou at the beast. Even though Suzumebachi was nowhere near as well-designed for such as maneuver as the reishi blade, Shaolin's sword still found its mark. The blade went into the still-open mouth of the Hollow as it continued its roar, and for a moment the beast didn't realize what had happened.

Then a strange look came over the thing's face, and even as it realized it was dead, the rift behind it began to collapse. So did the Hollow, whose body deflated and crumpled in on itself as though it were a punctured balloon.

_"Shaolin, she is getting close."_

"Just in the nick of time."

_"Sarcasm aside, what do you want to do?"_

Shaolin walked over to where the reishi blade had landed on the ground and retrieved it.

"Let whoever it is see me, and see what her reaction is."

She went to the now-decaying remains of the scorpion-Hollow and recovered Suzumebachi.

_"... Remember what jii-sama said about keeping a low profile?"_

Shaolin nodded even as she made her way to the two Pluses.

"I will be; our friend doesn't know about another shinigami in the area, otherwise Kisuke-san wouldn't have said anything to us."

The woman and her son had picked themselves up by now and were bowing low to the ground; Shaolin felt more than a little embarrassed at the praise.

"Besides, after we just went through I want that bitch to know she isn't the only Hollow hunter in the area."

Shaolin stood there and waited for the two Pluses to rise from their bows.

"Thank you for saving us, whoever you are. I...I don't know what-"

"You need to leave."

The ex-shinigami saw their anxiety at her words; they looked like she'd slapped them in the face.

"But, Karakura is our home, and..."

Shaolin put on a pained and sympathetic expression and held up Suzumebachi to them.

"I'm sorry, but Karakura isn't safe anymore. There are more of those things..._lots_ more and they won't stop until they've eaten the two of you."

The mother looked horrified and the boy seemed about to cry. Shaolin kept a stern look on her face, even though she wanted to comfort them.

"I can perform this thing called konso on you; it'll send the two of you to a place called Soul Society, where you'll both be safe from the Hollows."

"Soul Society?" The woman looked unsure.

Shaolin nodded.

"It'll be hard there; I won't lie to you about that. But would you rather take your chances with those things?"

_"Or becoming two more of those things?"_

Ignoring Hana's words, Shaolin waited for the ghosts' response. The two Pluses looked at each other for a moment, seemed to figure they had no choice, and then turned to the assassin to wait for whatever it was she was going to do.

_I'd better do this quick; whoever the newbie is, they're actually almost here. _

Shaolin smiled at the two Pluses and held Suzumebachi so the hilt faced them. After a moment of concentration, the end of the hilt started to glow a pale green. Shaolin moved up to the Pluses and tapped first the mother and then the son with the light, placing a brand on each of their foreheads. After a moment, the glow spread over the ghosts' forms and they began to dissolve like the Hollows had a couple of minutes before.

Even as she re-merged her zanpaktou into the gigai, Shaolin could see the glow fade and a pair of black Hell butterflies begin to fly off into the sky.

"Good luck you two."

Then she turned around and made her way to her bag, still laying at the edge of the field. There was still the matter of the unknown shinigami to be dealt with...

Shaolin took her time bending over the bag and checking its contents. She could feel the newcomers' presence getting very close; they'd be here any minute.

"_Shaolin..."_

"Before you get all over me, Hana, I haven't been to the Soul Society in a century, and I was hardly important back then. I seriously doubt some rich kid who got sent here to keep their deltoids dimpled will know who I am."

_"And if you stay in the gigai, she is likely to think you are 'just some human'. ... What if she thinks you are a Quincy?"_

"Do I look like a Quincy?"

Hana paused

_"No... You would need to be wearing glasses, at least..."_

Shaolin chuckled as she slung the bag over her shoulder, got up, and then started back on her way to west Karakura. The other reiatsu was almost on them now; now she'd see what this other girl was like.

Would she walk up to Shaolin and inform her that there was a proper Hollow fighter here, thank you very much?

Or would she take one look at the situation, see that it had been resolved somehow by someone, and take her leave?

Or maybe...

"Uh-oh."

_"What?"_

Shaolin managed not to betray her unease as she continued walking.

"She's stopped, Hana. And she's really surprised..."

_"You mean they recognize you?"_

Shaolin nodded, and resisted the urge to turn around and see who this person was; the resemblance to Ichigo...

"Yeah, but I don't recognize her."

_"Which means we have a great deal of trouble ahead of us, don't we?"_

Shaolin couldn't help but nod again; the next few weeks were going to be very interesting, she was sure.

And she decided she would be paying a visit to Isshin _now_...

* * *

><p><em>That gods-damned bitch!<em>

Even as Tatsuki continued walking over to Furin Hall with her friend, she was still pissed off at Kuchiki Rukia. Orihime simply stayed to one side, looking at the brunette with worry.

They'd had to spend a while talking to the police at the shinigami shrine, with the wreckage of the bousouzoku and their now unused bikes all around. Tatsuki couldn't suppress a slightly feral smile at _that_.

_Offerings to the death god..._

But what she couldn't stand was that Rukia had left them to answer for the mess. She shook her head in frustration.

_That...if I get my hands on that slippery little..._

Tatsuki looked over to Orihime again, and saw the small tears in her uniform from the fight; hers probably wasn't in much better shape. She wasn't worried about it, though; they could just pressure Ishida-san to repair the uniforms. And it wasn't like the damage had been for nothing; it had been a good workout...

_The biker looked quizzically at Tatsuki's smile; he obviously didn't know the fatal flaw with weapons like his chain. Not only could you grapple and connect with your opponent, they could do the same to you._

_The fact that the boy had used the chain merely for shock value didn't help..._

_Tatsuki threw a punch at the biker with her free hand. When he caught the blow, she gripped the now-slightly slack chain in her other hand and threw that into his face. Once, twice flesh and iron met, and then when he let go Tatsuki turned around and brought her back up to his chest. Pulling on the chain and using her body as a fulcrum, she lifted the ganger off the ground and threw him onto the pavement in front of her. A kick to the solar plexus put an end to him._

_Tatsuki scanned the 'battlefield' and saw Orihime handling her own opponent nicely with a series of punches and kicks, while Rukia was simply dodging around trying to keep from getting mauled by two more of the bousouzoku. 'Hiroshi' was simply standing back, apparently watching his underlings get pounded with interest._

Asshole... Now where's the...?

_A 'battle cry' from behind her alerted Tatsuki to the location of the last gang member. Smiling, she gripped the chain again and pulled it free from its former owner's hand, and then let it extend like a whip as she turned around to face her new foe._

_He was the largest of the group, with an especially mean look in his eyes, so Tatsuki simply let the end of the chain catch him across the face. He stepped back, screaming in pain as his momentum was broken; Tatsuki used the opening to swipe the chain back across his chest and then swept it around and upward at his chin. The biker caught the chain, just as Tatsuki wanted, and while he was occupied with his new catch she let go of it and then leapt and threw her body behind a roundhouse kick. Her opponent had just enough time to see the attack before it connected with the side of his head; he was still holding the chain as he went to the ground unconscious._

_Orihime still seemed to be doing okay with her opponent, who was just about done. Rukia was still struggling with the other two; even as she caught her breath, Tatsuki couldn't help but shake her head._

It's nice that she's dodging, but can't she fight?

_Seeing as how the smallest of the three girls needed help and that bastard Hiroshi still wasn't getting involved – the coward looked like he was starting to edge his way to the parked motorcycles – Tatsuki decided to help herself to another of the thugs._

_She could feel her blood sing again as she picked her target and ran to him._

_"Hey you!"_

_The ganger turned to face her in time for Tatsuki to grab him by the 'lapels', fall backwards and hurl him behind her. She got up first, and as he tried to Tatsuki gave him a chop to the knee; he went down and she went for another chop to the neck, hitting it with the side of her palm. Then she grabbed him again and hurled him face first into the pavement, taking him out of the fight._

_She looked at Hiroshi, and could see the fear in his eyes from her gaze. In fact, she could swear she felt the fear coming off of him..._

_Tatsuki turned to see Orihime had finished off her opponent and was turning her attention on the remaining underling, who was still going after Rukia._

_The last of the bousouzoku made a lunging grab at Rukia, who jumped up and over his back. As she landed on the ground, the petite student turned and landed a kick on his butt, sending him stumbling towards Orihime. The ginger-haired teen had no time to react and soon had a biker plowing into her chest, much to her horror._

_"Sorry!"_

_Rukia, her face turning red as she tried to help, ran up behind the ganger and gave him a swift kick between the legs._

_"Let go of her!"_

_As Tatsuki watched the boy let out a high-pitched wail of pain, and did let go for a moment and fell to his knees. But then he started falling over and latched onto Orihime again._

_The logical part of Tatsuki's mind understood that the boy was probably just trying to use Orihime as an impromptu column to keep his face from planting into the pavement. But the fact that he'd done this by grabbing hold of Orihime's rear and 'accidentally' planting his face in her skirt..._

_Tatsuki immediately saw red at the sight of her friend's scandalized face; she practically teleported behind the pervert doing this. Knocking Rukia aside, Tatsuki grabbed the biker by the collar and wrenched him free and pulled him away from Orihime..._

_...only to have a sneaker bury itself in his face as Orihime did a high kick. The determined – Tatsuki wasn't sure the girl could do 'mad' – look on Orihime's face made Tatsuki calm down a bit, and feel a little elated as well._

_Feng-sensei's training was having more of an effect than Tatsuki had thought, apparently. Maybe hooking her up with Ichigo wasn't a lost cause after all._

Especially considering the competition...

_As Orihime lowered her leg and Rukia picked herself up, Tatsuki let the bastard fall to the ground and turned her attention to Hiroshi. The bousouzoku leader, if that's what Tatsuki could call such a person, had already gotten back on his bike and was gunning the engine._

"_This isn't over! The White Tengu are a lot stronger than this!"_

_Tatsuki smiled again._

_"Send 'em over; we'll kick their asses too!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_Orihime's exclamation seemed to unnerve Hiroshi even more and he spared no time getting his motorbike in gear and leaving the scene. Tatsuki thought about trying to find something to throw at him – she was sure she could nail the bastard – but decided it wasn't worth the effort for now._

_Besides, she had more important things to worry about..._

The police had arrived not long after that; Tatsuki and Orihime had stayed and answered their questions. She liked a good fight, but Tatsuki wasn't going to be some delinquent like Ichigo, and they'd been in the right defending themselves from the bikers. Still, they'd been held up for most of an hour while the authorities had gone through their procedures and hauled off the bousouzoku.

And Rukia had been nowhere in sight.

"I wonder what happened to Kuchiki-san?"

Tatsuki turned to look at her friend while they continued walking down the early evening street, the shadows cast by the sun beginning to cover everything in a blanket of darker hues.

"That...bitch abandoned us, that's what happened to her Orihime-chan."

Orihime looked at her sternly.

"Tatsuki-chan, don't talk about her like that."

"Why not?"

"She's new and we don't know her very well. Besides, she was in a hurry when we met her; I'm sure it had something to do with Kurosaki-kun."

_You figured it out, too, huh?_

Orihime smiled brightly.

"Besides, it turned out well in the end."

Tatsuki sighed and looked away from her friend.

"I guess..."

And then Tatsuki looked up and saw Kuchiki Rukia standing up ahead of them on the sidewalk, looking like she was waiting for something. And then it dawned on her that the girl was waiting for them. As they approached her, the short transfer student looked at them with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Uhm...hi there..."

"Kuchiki-san, what are you doing here?"

"Well...I wanted to say I'm sorry about ditching you guys earlier. But I just need to see what was going on with Ichigo and..."

"And you decided once you found him that you might as well not come back for questioning by the police."

Rukia looked even more uncomfortable at the extreme irritation in Tatsuki's answer. Orihime, however, looked concerned.

"Kuchiki-san, you aren't in trouble with the police, are you? Like, you're some sort of Yakuza boss' daughter or something?"

Tatsuki's dark mood lifted substantially at the look on Rukia's face, and the fact that the shorter girl was trying to figure out what to say to that.

"N...No...I'm not!"

"Oh, okay!"

Orihime's easy acceptance seemed to blow Rukia even further out of the water. Tatsuki hoped she was keeping the smile off her face.

_Thank you again, Orihime-chan._

As soon as Rukia had managed to collect herself again, she quickly changed the subject. She pointed back in the direction of the shinigami shrine.

"So does that kind of thing happen a lot around here?"

Tatsuki shook her head, both to answer the question and in slight marvel at the lameness of the distraction.

_Let it go Tatsuki..._

"Not really...I mean, not until recently anyway..."

Tatsuki could hear in Orihime's voice the girl's imagination having her face the bikers again; she looked like she was trying to decide whether or not to continue pounding some imaginary gangers.

The brunette turned back to Rukia.

"It doesn't matter; they're just trash messing up the streets. But you did find Ichigo-san didn't you? I want to have a word with him after all this."

Rukia just smiled.

"Oh, he's fine, and he said he's sorry he wasn't there. Since it's all over now, he doesn't see a reason to get involved..."

Tatsuki glowered a little. _You're lying to us again, aren't you?_

"Tell Ichigo-san I _will_ be talking with him about this tomorrow at class."

The shorter girl just started looking uncomfortable.

"I will, don't worry."

Orihime looked at the two of them.

"Don't be so upset, guys; I'm sure...whatever it is...it'll all work out..."

The ginger-haired student wasn't so sure of what she was saying, but Tatsuki wasn't focusing on her. She could tell something was off with Rukia now, though what exactly she didn't know.

_What have you gotten yourself into, Ichigo-san?_

Tatsuki gave a smile of her own and tried to calm down a little; she didn't need to scare the new girl off that moment.

"You're right Orihime-chan; we'll deal with that when it comes."

Rukia beamed, and all traces of her earlier discomfort had disappeared.

"Well, if that's all, I'll be leaving now."

"See you tomorrow then, Kuchiki-san!"

Orihime waved goodbye as Rukia started walking away; not wanting to be rude in front of her friend, Tatsuki followed suit. But for the first time she was actually just a little bit worried for Ichigo...

Going out on a fling with some new kid...okay, they were _all_ new to Karakura High School #1...was one thing. Ichigo was 16, Rukia looked about the same age, and so there was nothing unusual or wrong in what they were doing.

But still...

As Tatsuki and Orihime started their walk again, she thought on the fact that Rukia had been running to somewhere when they'd met her today. The girl wouldn't say what she was doing, where she was going, or what Ichigo had to do with all of it.

Then there was the fight with the White Tengu. Tatsuki was sure Rukia had been holding back, and she was more than a little concerned that Rukia hadn't actually seriously taken down any of those goons.

And, now that Tatsuki thought about it, Rukia _had_ disappeared as soon as that last mess with Orihime had happened – a mess 'accidentally' caused by Rukia herself...

Tatsuki figured she'd talk to Feng-sensei about this; she was sure the older woman would know what to do...

* * *

><p>Sorry about taking so long with this chapter, BTW. My old computer blew itself up as I was heading towards completing the old Chapter 4, so I basically have had to rewrite it on someone else's computer. I'm working on getting a new computer, but until then my rate of update will be necessarily slowed down.<p> 


	5. A Bee and Her Family

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and _Shonen_ _Jump_. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but because I had this (hopefully) great idea for a story.

As before, reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive, please. And flames will used to light fireworks this 4th of July.

(Happy 4th of July to Americans reading this, and those of you from other countries have an excellent time on that day as well!)

More people going Story Alert and/or Favorite Author; in this case it's _JaeBard_,_ shortazn97_,_ siyentista_,_ and chaosrin_. I seem to be doing something right with this story; hopefully I won't blow myself up later...

* * *

><p><em>"Jinteki Shakusetsu, Suzumebachi!"<em>

_As soon as she said the words, the zanpaktou began to glow in Sui-..._no_; she had to stop using that name, she had no right to it. Regardless, _Shaolin's_ blade glowed with a soft light and then flowed onto her right forearm like molten metal._

_The glow faded and she could see her forearm covered in black metal, the gold highlights glinting in the dim light of the cave she was in. Her middle finger was sheathed in more gold, a stinger that was connected to the bracer with a thin chain._

_Her zanpaktou's shikai form having been brought forth..._Shaolin_...set herself to facing down the enemy. They were up ahead, five of them, and barely visible due to the dim light and the targets' own 'camouflage'._

_But it didn't matter; she could see them well enough. And there was a part of her that wondered if what she was doing mattered even then..._

_The..._ex_-shinigami...focused, gathered her energies, and sent then into her body, but especially her feet. It was an exercise she was very good at, and it meant she was faster than anyone else._

_Except Yoruichi-sama..._

_Sui-...no, Shaolin...whatever her name was, activated her shunpo and proceeded to her targets. She decided to be a little creative today...she was actually starting to feel boredom again._

_Maybe Urahara-sama was right. Maybe she was getting a little better..._

_Shaolin made her way to the first target and jabbed it with her finger-weapon – her little stinger, she liked to think of it. Immediately, a large four-petal flower design grew from the point, covering much of the target._

_She sped on to the next target, struck it, went to the next, struck it... Again and again until all five targets had the houmonka printed on them._

_Faster than thought, she sized up the targets and then let out an even greater burst of speed, visiting each previous spot in succession again and again and again..._

_...and soon there seemed to be not one, but five young women in black – five Shaolins – standing in the cave, each one in front of a separate target. Without pause and in unison they each raised their own Suzumebachi and drove it into the heart of each houmonka._

_Five voices whispered as one._

_"Nigeki Kessatsu!"_

_She didn't have to openly speak the technique's name, in fact she disliked that fact, but it made the effect more powerful._

_And the proof came as the houmonka on each target glowed and expanded. Even as she deactivated her shunpo and her 'clones' disappeared, the young assassin saw the targets enveloped by Suzumebachi's power. She tried to imagine Hollows screaming in horror as they realized their existence was about to be snuffed out._

_She tried as hard to keep those images from being members of her own clan, but memories that fresh still came by often..._

_As it was, the targets silently accepted their fate, the houmonka on each one completely engulfing its target and then dissipating._

_Some small part of...Shaolin...wondered whether Nigeki Kessatsu utterly destroyed the victim or merely sent it into another place. Maybe she would ask her zanpaktou's spirit about that one day..._

_But in any case, the targets were gone._

_Five very troublesome boulders had been wiped from existence._

_And Urahara-sama's cave had gotten a little bit larger-_

_"Nice performance, there, Sui-chan!"_

_"Yaahhh!"_

_Sui-...Shao-..._whatever_...practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of the former-taichou's voice maybe a dozen centimeters behind her._

_Turning around with shunpo-like speed, she saw the blond man smiling calmly at her. She skittered away and then almost fell over trying to bow in front of him._

_"My a...apologies, Urahara-sama, I didn't mean to-"_

_"Don't worry about it, Sui-chan. I've already had this place shielded, so we aren't going to be getting any unwanted visitors."_

_His tone was pleasant, but his words reminded the young assassin that she wasn't in her own gigai. She looked over to where it quietly sat on another rock, a perfect copy of her dressed in drab work clothes. Shaolin's 'twin' seemed merely to be asleep, the pick ax and shovel that were supposed to be used for the task of clearing out the cave sitting on the floor beside her._

_Shaolin bowed slightly lower towards the man in front of her, and then practically ran to her gigai. Taking just a moment to center her self and align her energy with that of the body, she sat 'into' it and melded her spiritual self with the physical._

_She opened the gigai's eyes – her eyes now – and stood up to see that Urahara-sama had moved to stand before her again. He'd long since traded in his shihakushou and taichou's haori for a simple green cotton shirt and pants. But he still had the bearing of a leader, even if an easy-going one and Shaolin found herself bowing to him again._

_"I still want to apologize, Urahara-sama. I..."_

_"You were just trying to practice your shikai, weren't you?"_

_A wave of shame and disgust flowed through the young woman._

_"Yes, I...was being arrogant, sir. It was wrong, and..."_

_"Sui-chan."_

_Shaolin paused at the words; there was no reprimand in them, just comfort..._

_"Would you look me in the eyes for a moment, Sui-chan?"_

_"But...I..."_

_"Sui-chan, we left our titles and positions back in Soul Society. And besides, you know the kind of guy I am; there's no need for this much formality."_

_Shaolin hesitated; she didn't want to do that. Decades of training and the etiquette of nobility demanded that she not._

_But what did any of the matter now? That wasn't her world anymore..._

_She only had this place now._

_Slowly, hesitantly, Shaolin straightened herself, and then she raised her vision to meet his eyes as he had requested. His smile broadened._

_"See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"_

_Shaolin could only manage a slight smile._

_"I...guess not."_

_"Good. Now as I was saying, there's nothing wrong with practicing down here with your zanpaktou; I do it sometimes myself. Just be careful when you do, all right?"_

_"Or you'll sic the Vizards on me again?"_

_The former taichou made a mock-frown._

_"You're going to hold that against me forever, aren't you?"_

_"Well, you did almost..."_

_The man shook his head._

_"All I did was told them who you were...okay it _was_ an accident...I mean it just slipped out...but still..."_

'Slipped out'? You said I was from the Onmitsukidou...

_It was when she'd first met the other Vizards; they hadn't been in a terribly good mood, and the idea of having an agent of the people who'd tried and condemned them put them in a worse mood._

_Shaolin didn't remember the moments after that very clearly, simply because she'd had six irate taichous and fuku-taichous and a kidou master attack her at once; if it hadn't been for Sarugaki-san..._

_Shaolin wondered if the young Vizard was still being ostracized by her 'kin'; she hadn't been over in a couple of years..._

_"You did that on purpose."_

_"What was that?"_

_Shaolin took in a breath and sighed. What did it matter...?_

_"You told them what I was on purpose, you...you jerk."_

_Urahara looked at her with dramatic amazement._

_"My goodness, Sui-chan: an emotion from you other than abject submission or utter depression! So you haven't completely broken, have you?"_

_Shaolin thought about that for a moment._

_"I guess not."_

_Urahara smiled kindly, if a bit roguishly. He seemed to be coming out of a shell of his own._

_"Good. And I didn't come here to give you a hard time about your work in the cave. Tell you what, get yourself upstairs and cleaned up and we'll talk."_

_Shaolin knew she looked unsure._

_"Have I done something else wrong, Urahara-sama?"_

_Urahara looked hesitant, though more like he was trying to figure out what exactly to say than whether to say it._

_"In a manner of speaking... I'll talk about it later, okay. And please, Sui-chan, _try_ to at least call me Urahara-_san_?"_

_"I'll try...Urahara...san..."_

_The man beamed again._

_"See, I knew you could do it! Now don't be late for supper, Sui-chan; I'm not quite sure what Tessai-san is cooking up there, but it smells delicious, and you don't want to miss any of that, do you?"_

_Shaolin shook her head and started for the ladder out of the cave when she stopped and looked at Urahara...san again._

_"What is it?"_

_"Would you be willing to...call me...Shaolin-chan...Urahara-san?"_

_The man smiled sadly in understanding._

_"You don't want to disgrace your ancestor anymore, is that it?"_

_She nodded._

_"Yes; like you said, we gave up our titles when we left."_

_All that work...then one thing people didn't like...and it was all for nothing. _

_"All right, Shaolin-chan, I think we have ourselves a deal."_

_Shaolin bowed to her...boss, she guessed she could call him...and then headed up the ladder._

_As she climbed through the trapdoor and into the building above, Shaolin couldn't help but marvel at her situation a little. That she should be a simple servant and worker at a general store was one thing; she could imagine what she was doing as 'undercover work'._

_But to think of Urahara Kisuke, a man of noble blood, posing as a mere shop-owner...a merchant..._

_It made her shake her head. It wasn't so bad in the Living World now, but she knew only a scant half-century ago, and in Soul Society still, such people were considered the bottom of polite society._

_In short, it was a perfect disguise; no one would look for them here. Or for Yoruichi-sama, for that matter..._

_The former head of the Shihouin-ke didn't visit often these days; or perhaps she came when Shaolin was asleep or away on chores. When the two women did meet...Shaolin couldn't keep the nervousness out of her soul and so stayed silent, while the older woman had gone from contempt to simply ignoring her former protégé._

_Shaolin made her way down the short hall to her room, and then shut the door and started changing out of the work clothes. It wasn't a big place, and it was very plain, but it was hers; at least it was hers at Urahara-sam..._san's_ pleasure. Though she still didn't trust him – and Sarugaki-san _really_ didn't trust him – he'd proven to be kind enough, both as landlord and employer._

_But did that kindness mean anything?_

_Yoruichi-sama had been friendly and kind to Shaolin when they were in 2-Bantai. Shaolin could remember many kind gestures and quiet moments with the woman she worshipped. They'd trained together...ate together...spent quiet moments during moonlit nights just sitting together...or just messed around together._

_And yet...none of that seemed to matter in the end._

_Kind gestures just seemed to be for momentary enjoyment, and had no lasting meaning. At least that was what she was beginning to think..._

_A very sad thought indeed._

_Shaolin shook her head as she tied the obi around her black kimono and fixed her hair a little. She looked at her reflection in a small mirror and pronounced herself decent. And she started out of the room and to the dining area of the shop._

_She dreaded what Urahara-san might want with her._

_But she was looking forward to supper. She was hungry, a fact the gigai only accentuated, and Kisuke was right about whatever Tessai was making being excellent._

_She could smell it in the air..._

* * *

><p>Shaolin could smell Hollow as she walked through the suburbs in southwestern Karakura. And it was taking everything she could muster to <em>simply<em> walk, since she had ideas about where any Hollow in this area would have been heading...

_The ruins of the Kurosaki Clinic came into view, wooden walls splintered and glass shattered. Yellow police tape still surrounded the building, even though whatever had occurred had been long-since looked over and processed by the authorities._

The reiatsu was different for each individual, but all Hollows had a certain rotten or bitter tang to their 'scent'. And right now the scent of a fairly strong member of their kind lay underneath the smell of summer flowers and cut grass in the otherwise tranquil early evening.

_As she came closer, Shaolin could see there was blood still impregnated into wood...the concrete sidewalk...the ground outside. It was the blood of the family that had lived there..._

It helped that the Hollow reiatsu was weak and dispersed; whatever had happened, it had happened some time ago, so she would only be dealing with the aftermath. She didn't relish the idea of a full-on battle in literal broad daylight.

_Ishida Ryuuken was standing there, immaculate in his white suit and blue necktie. She supposed he was there out of respect; the two of them and Isshin hadn't been together for years, but there was still a bond that needed to be honored..._

It was just like a century ago with Yoruichi-sama, and many times after that.

One couldn't build anything stable, no matter how one tried. No matter how much effort went into it, no matter how many bonds one tried to forge, all it took was one event...a mistake...any little thing to tear it all down.

Even as she thought this, Shaolin could also sense the reiatsu of another...

It was the shinigami she'd sensed earlier today. So the woman had been here, actually doing her job for once...and she'd survived the encounter. Maybe things weren't so bad...

Maybe.

_Standing some distance away from the ruined structure, a young woman looked sadly at what was likely her first failure. She had the full curves and earthiness of a woman of the Shiba-ke, and the black shihakushou of the Gotei 13; she had one hand on the zanpaktou on her side._

_The woman's eyes were full of sadness, but her failure to protect the Kurosakis wasn't the thing that boiled Shaolin's blood. It was the fact that the stranger looked like she was having trouble with the concept of being upset over this..._

Shaolin was getting near the Clinic now; another block or so and it would be coming into view. And as she took each step she was trying very hard to control her own movements, trying not to run or show the deep worry coursing through her.

_Gods...please tell me they're all right..._

She had already adjusted her bag so that she could drop it and use the reishi 'blade' at a moment's notice. Again, it wasn't that she expected combat now...but she hadn't expected to be running into a fight simply walking down the street earlier today, either.

_As Shaolin made her way to the destroyed house, she noticed a black cat sitting calmly on the side of the road, unnoticed by anyone else. But it seemed to be looking at her with a mix of accusation and disappointment._

_'You failed again, didn't you, Sui-chan...?'_

A moment later, Shaolin turned the last slight curve in the road and saw her destination...and breathed a small sigh of relief.

The Clinic was still standing; there was no police tape or other signs of disturbance around it. And there seemed to be no sense that the building had been 'separated' from the rest of the community through tragic occurrence.

But she still couldn't be too careful; the reiatsu of both Hollow and newcomer shinigami were stronger here. In fact, as Shaolin made her way to the Kurosaki home, she could tell the shinigami's 'scent' was _much_ stronger, _much_ more recent...

The woman still came by here.

Much like the Urahara Shoten, the Clinic wasn't a terribly ostentatious affair. It was a large, two story house, although a large part of that was taken up by Isshin's business. The clinic's green and white-lettered sign was up above a pair of glass doors through which Shaolin could see a waiting room.

It had blown her away that a shinigami captain would take up the life of a general medic, but Isshin had always been a man of simple tastes. And it was a solid profession; even though the Gotei 13 dismissed them, people just about everywhere else she'd been appreciated a healer.

As she came closer, Shaolin couldn't seem to see anything wrong; there didn't seem to be anything out of place...

Then she saw a wall of the building, off to one side of the glass doors. The paint was new on that area, and she bet herself that the wood underneath was new as well; the sod and plants in front of the section had been replanted recently as well.

Most of the people around here wouldn't notice such things, but it was clear as the fading day to her.

"Hana?"

The mod soul took a moment to respond.

"_Yes?"_

"Scan the building for life-forms."

The gikongan paused.

"_Do I look like a tri-corder to you?"_

Shaolin paused herself and then sighed.

"Sorry, it's just..."

"_Go up to the door and knock. If whatever answers it has a Hollow mask on, kill it, otherwise, let it live."_

The ex-shinigami found she couldn't argue with that logic. Forgoing the glass doors, Shaolin headed to the side of the house; she needed to know the status of the family, and also to keep her visit a little more low-key.

There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the rest of the house, but the normality that had been a relief before was starting to get to her. As she came upon the side door to the house she tried to force back memories of houses and apartments that had been turned into private abattoirs by the Hollows.

_Inside the house, there were gouges in the walls and broken furniture strewn about. Shaolin could even see a hole in the ceiling, right beneath where the twins' bedroom would have been on the second floor._

Shaolin walked up to the door and slowly placed a hand on it, and then pushed.

_The rooms and hallways reeked of rotting flesh and Hollow, with the newcomer shinigami's reiatsu providing a mocking counterpoint. And then on the floor of the dining room..._

The side door held firm.

Shaolin calmed herself a little. And then she reached over and pushed the doorbell.

_Underneath a tattered poster of her mother, the body of little Kurosaki Yuzu lay. Blood covered her dress and the floor around her, and her face was contorted in a look of horror. She'd obviously never known what had killed her; she'd simply felt her body come apart for no apparent reason, the din of an alien roar in her ears as she'd died..._

There was a muffled 'Coming!' from inside. A moment later, a perfectly fine and healthy Kurosaki Yuzu opened the door and beamed when she saw who was calling.

"Shaolin-obasan!"

Trying her hardest to keep the relief flooding through her off her face, Shaolin raised a welcoming hand and smiled at the girl.

_Thank you gods..._Thank you.

"Hi, Yuzu-chan. Is it okay if I come in? I know it's late, but I just got back in and I need to have a word with your father about something."

"I'm sure it's fine. And don't worry; you won't be a bother."

"Thanks."

Yuzu raced back into the house, while Shaolin walked in and shut the door behind her. The inside of the house looked no worse for wear than the outside; the place was as clean and tidy as it ever was.

Shaolin took a moment to breathe a more proper prayer of thanks to whatever gods had preserved this family; she was sure that if Yuzu was her usual chipper self, then the rest of the family was probably fine as well.

As she breathed in the air, though, the ex-shinigami began to realize which god she probably needed to thank. She could sense the remnants of the newcomer's reiatsu inside the house even more strongly than she had on the street.

And it was just as recent...

"So the newbie's living here now, huh?" She sighed and shook her head in bemusement. "Well, that answers one question, I guess."

_"And maybe it's something else."_

"Meaning?"

Hana paused for a moment.

_"Are you going to be civil?"_

"Is that why you've been silent this whole time?"

Hana paused again.

_"You can be...hard to talk to when you are this agitated, Shaolin."_

The assassin sighed; she _could_ be a bitch when she got this upset.

"I'll be nice, Hana; I promise. Now what was it?"

The gikongan took another moment to gather its thoughts.

_"This place was attacked by a Hollow recently, I am sure you have noticed. And you said on the way here that our newcomer has a reiatsu very much like Ichigo's. Doesn't that sort of say something?"_

Shaolin closed her eyes and tried not to think of that; it would mean...

"Hana, let's wait and see for ourselves before we do anything. If Ichigo-kun's...well, I'd like to be sure before I go apologize to Masaki-san's gravestone."

As she entered the dining room, Shaolin could see Yuzu's twin sister Karin sitting at a table working on some homework. The two girls didn't look all that much alike despite their familial relationship; Yuzu was very much like her mother Masaki, including the light brown hair and eyes and the easy smile. It was something that tugged at Shaolin's heart and she was sure it hurt Isshin a little to see his wife's face in the girl...

Karin, on the other hand, was more like Ichigo in favoring their father's side of the family. And she also had her brother's power, though in a more controlled form; it still bothered Shaolin that Isshin didn't mind his daughter being quietly trained in reiryoku control, while forbidding such things for his more problematic son.

In any event, Karin was in Shaolin's opinion very much a girl of the Shiba-_ke_, with all that that implied. The ex-shinigami was sure in a few years that poor Orihime and Tatsuki would have a great deal of competition from the dark-haired Kurosaki daughter, on both the field and with boys...

The object of Shaolin's attention noticed her family's guest, smiled and then waved.

"Hey, obasan, back from your trip already?"

Shaolin nodded even as she started looking into her bag.

"I just got back in today, Karin-chan; just taking care of a little business before going home. How's school?"

Karin shrugged.

"It's okay, I guess; Yuzu seems to be enjoying it more."

"Yuzu-chan enjoys everything more."

All three females shared varying smiles at the comment as Shaolin pulled out a bag full of some honey-flavored candies. She handed one candy to each of the girls, and then set the bag on the table for the household to enjoy at its leisure. She listened to the customary first refusal from the girls, and then made a second offer of the _omiyage_, which was of course accepted.

She knew it was a small gift, but it brought smiles to the two girls that made Shaolin feel a little more at home.

"Thanks, obasan!"

"Yeah, thanks!"

Shaolin smiled at the two girls.

"Don't mention it. By the way, how's Ichigo-kun doing? Is high school still agreeing with him?"

Karin decided to answer that one, although she sniggered a little at the honorific.

"Ichigo-_kun_ seems to be doing fine, at least we think. He hasn't gotten pounded by the locals as far as I know, or done any pounding himself."

Shaolin smiled at that.

"Well, give him time..."

_"How about you ask them?"_

Shaolin didn't respond out loud, but she decided to follow Hana's advice.

"Did anything happen recently that I should know about, something involving the wall that just got replaced?"

Yuzu's face got very serious.

"Yeah, there was this truck that crashed through the side of the building just a week ago. It was horrible, obasan!"

Karin shrugged, but even her face showed some concern.

"Yeah, it was a mess. Fortunately, nobody got hurt; we were all asleep upstairs when whoever it was plowed into the place."

Shaolin smiled and nodded her head at the information.

"The important thing is that all of you are all right."

_And that none of you remember a thing, since all of your memories about the Hollow have been replaced..._

She turned to face Masaki's 'memorial'.

_I'd hate to see your kids traumatized, Masaki-san..._

On one wall of the dining room a massive poster of Kurosaki Masaki was prominently displayed. The woman had a radiant smile on her face, a smile she'd had almost all the time Shaolin had known her, and on the borders were flowers of several kinds.

It was the way Isshin liked to remember his late wife, and Shaolin had to admit that she wished she could remember her that way too.

Not lying face down in the grass of a riverbank, the rain washing away the blood from a gaping wound in her back...

Shaolin shook the image from her head and instead bowed to the image, pretending to pray for her. She wanted the prayers to be genuine, but she knew nothing could be done for Masaki until-

"Oh, c'mon obasan, not you too..."

Karin's words cut through Shaolin's thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

The dark-haired girl shrugged.

"It's kind of stupid, you and dad falling all over that poster..."

Shaolin looked at Karin sadly.

"You mean you don't want your mother around?"

"No...it's not that...it's just..." Karin looked troubled. "I'm sorry, obasan, I-"

"It's all right, Karin-chan. We deal with things in our own way."

Yuzu looked at the tense situation and cleared her throat.

"Uhm...I know you came to talk with Dad, obasan, but did you also want to stay for dinner?"

Shaolin smiled and shook her head.

"I'm sorry but I can't right now, Yuzu-chan; I'm just going to take your father aside for a little bit, that's all."

Karin raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Well, Dad ought to be-"

Out of the corner of her eye, Shaolin could see a large mass hurtling through the air towards her. She turned and saw that it was the 'man' of the house, performing a flying kick that was aimed straight at her.

"Hellooooooo Ichig-"

Faster than she could think, Shaolin knocked Isshin's leg to one side; as he started to sail past her, she raised her arm up and elbowed him in the gut with enough force to send the larger man crashing to the ground.

"-ooooooooooooooooo!"

Karin sighed in frustration.

"Like I said, Dad ought to be doing what he always does..."

"Dad!"

Shaolin turned to the frightened Yuzu.

"Don't worry, Yuzu-chan, your father can take a beating."

The brown-haired girl still looked a little worried; Shaolin noticed that Karin was now only smiling and shaking her head.

The ex-shinigami turned her attention back to her friend and looked down on him – a rare treat given their difference in height. By now Isshin was recovering from his mishap and looked up at Shaolin with embarrassment.

"Oh, hey there Shaolin-san! I thought you were my son back from school."

Shaolin made sure to put a strained smile on her face, and put an equal amount of strain in her voice.

"No, I'm a guest who you tried to attack in your own home. Do you have any idea what kind of example you're setting for your children, you goofball?"

"And besides, you let her kick your ass in your own home."

"Karin...language."

The dark-haired girl looked appropriately chastened.

"Sorry, obasan."

Isshin was shaking his head as he picked himself off the floor.

"How do you do that? I can't ever get Karin to listen to me."

Karin rolled her eyes.

"Because she's not a goofball, she's cool."

"That's enough Karin; get back to your schoolwork."

Karin smiled wryly at Shaolin.

"Yes, _okaasan_, I'll be a good little girl."

Even as she cringed a little at the title, Shaolin could hear Yuzu chuckling in the kitchen; she turned to Isshin.

"Listen, Isshin-san, I need to talk to you...outside."

The man raised his eyebrows a little at the request, but then shrugged.

"Okay. Karin, Yuzu, I'll just be a few moments with Shaolin-san."

"All right, dad. See you later, obasan!"

"Yeah, see you, Shaolin-obasan."

Shaolin nodded to the two girls.

"Goodbye, girls. Don't worry, I'll be around."

With that, the assassin turned and headed back out the way she came, her erstwhile host following behind her. They quickly exited the Kurosaki home and made their way past another house before she stopped and turned to face him. Isshin only looked at her with curiosity.

"All right, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Shaolin looked at Isshin with deadly seriousness.

"A Hollow attacked you guys just recently, didn't it?"

"I don't k-"

"Don't give me any shit about this, Isshin-san! Your place stinks of the thing's reiatsu, and it smashed a hole in the side of your house. I thought all of you were..."

Isshin smiled calmly at her.

"We're fine, Shaolin-chan, as you can see. And Ichigo is too, before you ask."

"And you're not going to let me train him this time, either. Am I right?"

Now it was Isshin's turn to look serious.

"Are we going to have another fight?"

"Only if you keep being a stubborn asshole like last time. Look, it's not like I want to turn him into a shinigami or anything; I mean he's human so he can't do the things we do. But for crying out loud, he needs to learn how to control his power Isshin-san!"

Isshin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Shaolin-san, we're all right and we're not going to be in trouble anytime soon, believe me."

Shaolin pointed back at the Clinic.

"Yeah, I'm sure your cousin or aunt or...whoever will be able to protect you guys just fine..."

"Wait a minute, what did you say?"

Isshin actually looked stunned; Shaolin sighed.

"There's been a shinigami assigned to Karakura, Isshin-san. That's how serious the problem's going to be. And whoever it is, I'm pretty sure they're related to you; I almost had a run in with her earlier, and her reiatsu was a lot like Ichigo's."

The man shook his head, still looking a little floored.

"I'm sorry Shaolin-chan, but we haven't had any guests here lately; at least not while you were gone..."

Shaolin threw her hands up in defeat.

"All right, whatever..."

"You don't believe me?"

The ex-shinigami crossed her arms and glared up at him.

"It doesn't matter what I believe or don't, Isshin-san. The fact of the matter is that Ichigo-kun doesn't spend his life at home; any and all of his friends at school or, hell, the whole community, are endangered by him just being around."

"I don't want to-"

"I'm talking with Ichigo-kun, whether you like it or not. He's 16; he's old enough to handle this."

Isshin stared at her in disbelief.

"Handle what? That his old man is a death spirit; that he's some kind of freak?"

"Will you...!"

Shaolin took a moment to rein in her anger and continued.

"He has your level of strength, Isshin; he has the power of a taichou, but no restraints, no control. And he's proving the point of having the power of taichous and fuku-taichous sealed when they come to the Living World."

Isshin looked confused.

"I don't-"

"He's probably infecting people with his reiatsu right now, Isshin-san. And when that happens they'll be targets too." She sighed. "Even if you aren't worried about you own family, think about the community! You're a doctor, you know the best way to stop a problem like this is to treat it at its source as fast as possible."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Or has the last thirty years just been an act?"

"Come again?"

Seeing the look on Isshin's face, Shaolin inwardly cursed herself.

_I stepped in it again, didn't I? Oh well, might as well go all the way..._

"I know that you still care about Masaki-san, and I know you care about your family. But I also know you were a captain...almost a god compared to the people around us."

"You're kind of at that level yourself, if I remember correctly."

"Yeah, I am, but that's not the point..."

Isshin held up a hand.

"The point is I'm Gotei 13 and that we don't give a damn about people, just ourselves and a handful that strike our fancy. Is that about right?"

_**"Nothing is permanent; all is transitory..."**_

Shaolin sighed and turned away from her friend, even as the words came to mind from that day long ago.

"_**...what is built is cast down; what is forged is broken..."**_

"Being nice to someone doesn't necessarily mean you care about them, and doing good deeds doesn't keep you from being shunned..."

_**"...all who seek otherwise deny the way of the universe."**_

"Still going on with that line you won't tell anybody else?"

Shaolin turned enough to see Isshin wasn't angry, or at least didn't look it. He instead had a sadly sympathetic look on his face and was shaking his head a little.

"Yoruichi-san really screwed you up, didn't she?"

"I don't know... That was a long time ago, Isshin, and this is now."

She turned to face him again, though she had a little trouble looking him in the eye.

"Look, I'm going to do what I'm going to do. I want to protect your son, and I want to protect this community, and you know I'll do what I have to in order to do that. I don't want to lose you as a friend, but if I have to..."

Isshin sighed and rubbed the back of his head, though he still didn't look angry; he could be infuriating that way.

"You're as stubborn as you ever were, I see."

They stood there a few moments, and she wondered if she was going to get anything out of the man. Then he sighed and looked at Shaolin as seriously as she was looking at him.

"Shaolin...I don't like the idea of my son being dragged into our world." He held up a hand to stop the assassin's protest. "I know he's already halfway there because he can see ghosts and spirits, and I know that sooner or later he's going to get sucked in whether either of us like it or not. Masaki wouldn't have wanted that for him..."

Shaolin's shoulders slumped at mention of the name.

"You're right... And I don't like the idea of dragging anyone into this either...but Isshin..."

"You're right too; Ichigo is getting old enough to make his own decisions about life. So...tell you what: I'll let you talk to him about it. If he agrees to the matter, then I'd like to sit down with the two of you and we can have it out. How's that sound?"

She was pleasantly surprised; Shaolin hadn't expected to get this much out of the man. While she was a little suspicious, she was going to take whatever she could get. And at least they weren't yelling at each other this time.

"Thank you."

Isshin's smile widened, any seriousness in it vanishing.

"Now are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner, Shaolin-san? I know how you like Yuzu's cooking and Karin..."

Shaolin shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry Isshin-san. I need to get back to my house and get settled in, maybe stop by a couple more places over the next few days. But I'll be sure to come over sometime soon."

Isshin beamed.

"Great! Anytime you want, Shaolin-san, just come on in!"

And with that, Kurosaki Isshin started back to his house, Shaolin shaking her head in wonder at his back. He was such a hard man to figure out...

Maybe that was why-

_"That was an interesting conversation."_

"Don't even start, Hana."

_"Maybe you should have been more aggressive back then; you might have gotten him to cave."_

Shaolin sighed in frustration as she turned and began the trip north to Furin Hall.

"We were already screaming at each other, Hana. Being more aggressive wouldn't have helped, believe me."

_"I wasn't talking about _that_ 'back then'."_

It took a moment for Shaolin to process that, and then she shook her head.

"You're as bad as Suzumebachi sometimes, you know that?"

* * *

><p><em>Shaolin knew she was going to remember this evening for a very long time; and not in a good way.<em>

_As she came into the small room that had been set apart for dining, she could see Urahara-san and Tsukabishi-san sitting around a large meal that included her favorite fish. The aroma filled the room, and the small candles that were burning around the room gave the place a friendly and intimate air._

_But Shaolin felt as uneasy as the evening atmosphere outside._

_Yoruichi-sama sat next to Tsukabishi. And more to the point, on one side of the table the Vizard Hirako sat with a somewhat sullen look on his face._

_The Vizards now considered him something of a leader, and they didn't like the idea of an Onmitsukidou agent near their home, worming her way into Urahara's confidence..._

_...and 'poisoning' Sarugaki's mind._

_This would not end well._

_Shaolin sat down in the 'open' space around the table and tried to keep her eyes down in a manner that at least looked respectful. She was sure she wasn't fooling anyone here, but it was the appearance that counted._

_"Tessai, it never ceases to amaze me how well you can cook!"_

_Yoruichi-sama was as animated and charismatic as ever, though Shaolin noticed that the woman ignored her._

_"Thank you, Yoruichi-sama, I do try with what I have available."_

_Yoruichi-sama paused as she picked up a bowl of rice._

_"Oh please, Tessai, would you stop with the honorifics, already?" She swept her chopsticks around the room. "It's not like we need them anymore..."_

_"Nevertheless, I will continue to use them, ma'am. It's an affectation of mine, and a gesture of my personal respect in your case."_

_The woman sighed in defeat._

_"Oh all, right...just for you. Kisuke, don't you even think about copying him."_

_Yoruichi prepared to dive into her food, even as Shaolin quietly gathered her own. She wasn't hungry anymore and just wanted to go to her room, but it would be rude to just leave._

_"Now, anyway..."_

_"I think that's enough."_

_All eyes turned on the still-sullen Vizard, Urahara in particular._

_"Hirako-san?"_

_"We have important, private matters to discuss. I thank you Kisuke for letting me barge in like this-"_

_Yoruichi-sama waved her chopsticks dismissively._

_"You aren't 'barging' Shinji, I invited you."_

_Hirako bowed slightly._

_"And I thank you, Yoruichi-sama. But the fact of the matter remains that we should get this matter of...her," he pointed at Shaolin, "taken care of. And then we can enjoy this sumptuous repast Tessai's been gracious enough to fix for us."_

_Shaolin continued to just sit and eat through the exchange, and then lifted her head as she felt Urahara's eyes on her._

_"Shaolin..."_

_"Oh, you mean she's not using 'Sui' anymore; I'll have to remember that."_

_Kisuke tried to ignore Yoruichi-sama's words and focused again on Shaolin._

_"I need you to leave Karakura for a while, Shaolin-chan. Just for a year or two, that's all."_

_The words were gentle, understanding...he knew he was delivering a hard blow, and it was obvious he didn't like it. For a moment she wanted to protest, and then considered who else was in attendance and decided instead on submission._

_"Hai, Urahara-san."_

_Urahara kept the smile on his face and she tried to focus on that, and not Hirako or Yoruichi-sama._

_"Look, don't think this is me wanting to throw you out or anything, it's just that you need to get out and do things. Tessai and me, the two of us could stay in a cave for years and love it as long as we had something to occupy our time._

_"But you're more like Yoruichi here; being here is killing you, and I don't mean physically. I'm going to give you some money before you leave, something to get you started on. And like I said, I'd like it if you stayed away from here for at least a year so you can really spread you wings, so to speak."_

_Despite the kind words, she was almost sure that he had been pressured to the point of caving in by Yoruichi-sama or Hirako; probably both. She hated thinking it of her former mistress, but it was pretty clear after these few years that Feng Shaolin was no longer even wanted around._

_Then again, who would want a 'former' Onmitsukidou agent in their midst?_

_Again, considering the situation and the company, submission seemed the only course._

_"Hai, Urahara-san. I will do as you say."_

_The air in the room relaxed noticeably; Hirako in particular seemed to settle a little and a bit of a smile crept onto his face. He reached for his own set of chopsticks and a bowl._

_"Well, now that that's settled..."_

_The rest of the meal passed without incident; Shaolin hadn't actually expected them to discuss anything important, and they didn't. It was all just trivialities or various news, with Yoruichi delighting the others with accounts of her travels, and Hirako talking about how his 'people' were settling in to their new home._

_Shaolin simply sat in silence, eating her food and trying to enjoy the taste of it. She kept her head down as she didn't want to attract attention; she just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible and leave._

_After a while, she determined she had eaten enough food and stayed long enough to not be considered rude. Putting her chopsticks away, she bowed to the assembled guests._

_"Thank you for the wonderful meal, Urahara-san, Tsukabishi-san." She turned to the guests and bowed to each in turn. "Thank you for your company, Yoruichi-sama, Hirako-sama."_

_Everyone nodded to her in return and she stood up to leave. She hoped down to the bottom of her heart that she wasn't showing any of the shame or...was it hatred?...in her heart._

_"Pardon my rudeness, but I have an errand to attend to before I go to sleep. I wish you all a good night."_

_With that she turned and exited the room, the slightly troubled look in Urahara-san's eyes burned into her mind._

_Shaolin walked quietly to her room, trying not to run or show any of the nervousness she felt. She needed to get out of here; the atmosphere was too confining for her tastes..._

_"Feng-san, you really are going somewhere?"_

_Innocuous words, but coming from the Vizard Hirako they froze the blood in her veins. That he was here on Yoruichi-sama's advice...it just made it worse. Shaolin schooled herself so as not to give the slightest possibility for Hirako to claim being insulted._

_"As I said before, I am merely getting ready to go...on my..."_

_"Yes...your 'errand'." Hirako's genteel words dripped with sarcasm._

_"Well, have a good time; and know that you will be watched."_

_Shaolin nodded._

_Hirako then walked around to her front and made sure he held eye contact with her. He was still smiling his cat's grin, but it didn't reach his own eyes; there was only venom and hatred there._

_"In the morning, you will leave." His words were still calm and quiet, but they carried the weight of an order. "As Kisuke-san said, you will take leave of Karakura, and we'd really prefer it if you left Nippon entirely..."_

_"...and never come back?"_

_Now there was some genuineness to Hirako's smile; it just made Shaolin even more uneasy. She wanted to run right then._

_"Now I didn't say that...but it is a good idea. How about you capitalize on that, and we'll all be happy; especially Hiyori."_

_She said nothing as he proceeded to walk back around her and head back to the dining room. Then he paused._

_"And Feng-san?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"If you do ever come back, make sure you bring an army with you."_

_"Yes, Hirako-ta...Hirako-sama."_

_She waited for the explosion. The Vizards hated their old titles being used, hated the fact that they were forever barred from Soul Society, hated their current existence. Kuna and Sarugaki tended to cry, some of the others would just stare hatefully at her._

_Hirako tended to use sneering sarcasm, or just explode into a tirade when he thought nobody was looking._

_But the honorific seemed to mollify him for the moment; he just continued on his way._

_Shaolin stood there for a while, trying not to cry or notice the film of sweat on her body. As soon as she was sure it was all right she quietly walked to her room, gathered an umbrella, and made her way out the front of the shop._

"I need you to leave Karakura for a while, Shaolin-chan."

_The words still tore through Shaolin as she made her way through the streets of Karakura. The skies were leaden gray today, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before the rain came and she would have to use the umbrella she'd brought with her. But she wasn't sure if she cared about getting wet anymore._

_She wasn't sure she _should_ care about anything anymore..._

_She just ran for...she didn't know how long, trying to ignore the reiatsu that were following her, trying to ignore Hirako's threat. Inside...she just wanted to blend in. She wished for once that she was just a normal human, that she could forget all of this, or only see it as an outsider._

_But she was shinigami; it was as much race as vocation. She could not get away from that and could not get away from the demands and duties of her kind. The thought helped slow her flight and still her heart._

_Even as she slowed down, it began to rain and Shaolin fumbled to open her umbrella. After a moment she gave up; it was raining too quickly and she was too upset. So she simply made her way under the awning of a nearby building._

_As Shaolin tried to dry off a little and keep in the dry area next to the wall, she began to look at where she had taken refuge. It was one of the newer structures built in Karakura, made of plastered brick rather than wood and paper. She'd seen structures like this before, and once she'd even gone to the capital and seen the new buildings and fashions modeled after those in Europe..._

_That was it. She didn't entirely know where this 'Europe' was, other than it was the land many of the gaijin came from. And it was where all the new things in this country were coming from._

_Why not go there and become a part of this new future, much as Nippon was celebrating a new emperor?_

_She had come here to the Living World, mistakenly it turned out. She'd tried to fit in; again she was mistaken. And she thought she'd had friends..._

_Now she had no one...and no one wanted her._

_Fine; she would leave them all, if that was what they wanted._

_She would leave Urahara; leave Tsukabishi, Sarugaki, and the Vizards...all of them._

_And especially Yoruichi._

_She would go someplace where maybe she could forge her own destiny, and maybe find something new to belong to..._

* * *

><p>Thanks for the review, DarkScyther, it's very much appreciated.<p>

I do indeed intend for Tatsuki to get some powers (I'm still mulling over what to give her, but I have a pretty good idea).

As for Shaolin/Sui-Feng's behavior, consider that this Sui-Feng hasn't spent 100 years stewing in her own hatred and thirst for vengeance. She's had hard times in her life, and there are still plenty of scars, but she's a very different woman in this timeline.

And as for the bold text in this chapter, a hint:

Isshin's Final Getsuga Tenshou had to have been used on something...


	6. A Bee and Furin Hall

Once again, hello everybody! I'm glad people are still reading this thing. I'm going to be a little long-winded this time, so either bear with me or go to the next section line to start the story chapter.

Disclamer: Bleach and all the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is being written merely for the enjoyment of myself and whoever happens to like it.

Reviews would be most welcome, as would constructive criticism. In the case of the later, you can be brutally honest, but please don't be abusive. And flames will be ignored.

An apology for taking so long this time; between life, plotting this story (so it hopefully doesn't get away from me), and some other matters I've been slowed down quite a bit. Hopefully this won't happen too much in the future.

A nice welcome to more 'Story Alert' and 'Favorite Story' people, in this case (in no particular order) ,_ Ability_ _King_ _KK_ , _icegoddess52_, _22288_, _crossxavier_, _AnimeLoverno.1_, and _The Literary Lord_. It's very gratifying to know that there are people who like this story enough to want to know immediately whenever a new chapter comes out.

On a more serious note, received a review that made me sit back and think for a couple of days. It was a criticism that there was too much Japanese in a story that is supposed to be English language.

Actually, I was glad to get it; it made me stop and think on the readability of the story and the 'style' it was written in. So I went and checked up on other people's Bleach stories to see how they handled things like honorifics, terminology and words. And I looked through some Bleach chapters online that use the honorifics system to see what the characters might have actually used.

The reason I'm mentioning it is because I've written this chapter in a slightly different way than before: I've tried to eliminate as many of the honorifics from the narrative and internal dialogue as I could; I also found Tatsuki to be far more informal than I'd thought with Orihime and Ichigo, so that will be reflected in the dialogue. And I've decided that if an average person would have to use a dictionary to figure out a word, English or Japanese, I won't use it unless I feel I absolutely have to. I'm also not going to be using Japanese phrases in the story anymore (like I did in the last chapter when Sui-Feng activated her zanpaktou).

I'm doing all this not to please one person, but because after a lot of thought I'm hoping this will be a smoother read overall. Hopefully it won't be too jarring to the audience, though if it is I apologize; this story is still something of an experiment. If anybody has any other criticisms about the way I'm writing (poor grammar; the story 'drags'; the dialogue is clunky; etc.) please let me know.

And with that done (maybe), here's another chapter.

* * *

><p><em>The little girl was amazed by what she was seeing right now.<em>

_Mom had taken her here to Furin Hall to see if she could learn how to fight; she'd heard something about 'self-control' and 'discipline', whatever that meant, but the girl didn't care about that._

_All she cared about was the people punching and kicking around the practice room like something out of a cartoon. It had been awesome, seeing them go at each other, and it made her wonder if she could be like that._

_The people had left the large room a while ago, and most of them were wither gone or were in some other room talking about...well, whatever grown-ups talked about. It was all boring, anyway, and so the girl had just quietly sneaked away to the training hall._

_She was going to try some of those cool moves she'd seen earlier._

_The girl wasn't sure, but maybe she could be like those people, beating the stuffing out of people she didn't like._

_There were some kids she wanted to hurt._

_And as she got to the hall, the girl knew she could at least punch and kick things without Mom getting mad at her._

_Except that there was already someone in the hall. The girl thought about it for a minute, and then just felt it would be better to stay hidden in the doorway._

_There was just something about this person..._

_It was a small but beautiful woman about her mom's age. She had short black hair and looked like she was some kind of foreigner, maybe from the mainland. And she had on a black t-shirt and pants instead of those white clothes everybody else had had._

_But there was something about the calm look on her face..._

_And then the woman started her routine._

_It was a punch, a kick, a jab, another kick..._

_It was nothing the little girl hadn't seen from the other people earlier. But there was something else here._

_The woman was so calm, so confident in her routine, like she'd done this a million times before._

_Another kick, a turn, a pair of jabs, a sweep of one arm..._

_It felt..._real_. It wasn't like those other people, just practicing, just showing off._

_Another kick, another couple of jabs, a turn..._

_This woman _knew_ what she was doing._

_She'd fought people before, the girl just knew, and had probably hurt them._

_Faster; a couple of high kicks, a roundhouse kick, a few more sweeps of her arms..._

_It was almost like magic, the way the woman moved; there was power coming from her._

_And now the little girl found herself hypnotized._

_Faster; a step back, a leap and a kick to the air, a few more jabs..._

_The speed, the grace, the power of this woman was everything the girl wanted to be. Including the fact that she looked like a woman and not..._

_Not some almost-boy like the girl._

_The girl knew she could learn a lot from this lady. Like how to beat people up and..._

_And the woman had stopped and was looking at the girl..._

_Looking _through_ the girl..._

_And the girl could see the woman looked a little sad._

_The woman didn't want to hurt people; somehow the little girl knew this._

_And the girl felt ashamed of herself for what she'd wanted to do..._

_Why had she wanted to hurt people?_

_Did they really do anything that bad to her?_

_Or was she just a bad person, like some of the others said?_

_The little girl was so busy thinking about it that she didn't notice the woman coming up to her and getting down on one knee. Her face was only a couple of feet away from the girl._

_The girl gulped._

_The woman was looking at her, a small smile on her face now._

_A face that was strong and pretty, just like her movements had been._

_And..._good_...not bad..._

_Just like the little girl wanted to be..._

"_Did you like what you see, kid?"_

_She could only bring herself to nod; even the woman's voice was strong and beautiful...and good._

"_What's your name?"_

_It took a moment for the girl to find her voice._

"_A-Arisawa Tatsuki."_

_The woman smiled._

"_It's nice to meet you, Arisawa-chan. My name's Feng Shaolin."_

_The smile turned a little sad._

"_Do you like to hurt people?"_

_Tatsuki didn't know what to say. Hurting people was bad but...she did like it...a little..._

_Shaolin must have seen this in Tatsuki's face; she met the girl's eyes._

"_I've seen a lot of people get hurt, Arisawa-chan. You believe this, right?"_

_Tatsuki nodded. The woman shook her head sadly._

"_It's not fun to do, or to see."_

_Tatsuki couldn't get away from those dark eyes; they were so old, so full of sadness._

_There was no way this lady could be mom's age. She had to be a _lot_ older._

"_You were fighting now..."_

_Tatsuki pointed to the middle of the room and punched for effect._

_Shaolin just shook her head again, but she wasn't as sad this time._

"_Fighting isn't bad; it's why you're fighting that's important. I'm doing these exercises so when I need to fight I know how; when I need to not fight, I can control myself."_

_She continued to look at Tatsuki, and now the girl was sure._

_This was no ordinary woman..._

"_It's called discipline, and it will allow you to control yourself and your life. With it, you can become whatever you want to be. Would you like that, Arisawa-chan?"_

_Be whatever she wanted to be..._

_Tatsuki wanted to be a good fighter._

_But she also wanted to be a good person._

_And Tatsuki was just blown away that someone like this..._goddess_; she just had to be a kami...would be interested in someone like her. It made her smile._

_And it made her nod her head._

_Tatsuki wanted to be this woman's student, and Shaolin seemed to know this._

_Because she smiled, too._

* * *

><p>Tatsuki had had a lot of other experiences with Feng Shaolin over the years, especially recently, but she still remembered with crystal clarity that first time she'd seen the older woman. And now, thirteen years later, Tatsuki was Feng-sensei's prize student, getting ready to show the entire country what she and her sensei's teachings could do.<p>

That she'd gained the discipline and control over herself and her life that she'd been promised a dozen years ago.

And that she was a good person, and could kick some serious butt at the same time.

That is, if she didn't get _her_ butt kicked by Orihime here and now...

The ginger-haired teen blocked a punch Tatsuki threw at her, and then immediately sent one at Tatsuki herself. She tried to grab it, only to have Orihime pull back; Tatsuki tried to use a roundhouse kick, but Orihime simply backed even further away. Then she charged in to Tatsuki; before she could figure out what Orihime was up to the girl had grabbed her uniform's collar, twisted around so her back was to Tatsuki, and then pulled.

It was so fast that Tatsuki didn't have enough time to keep from getting hauled over Orihime's shoulder and thrown to the ground. Tatsuki was quick enough to roll after landing and before her friend could follow up she was back on her feet and smiling.

Orihime had learned well from both Tatsuki and their sensei; in fact the once pathetic girl was going to be going for her official black belt later that year. Tatsuki couldn't help but feel proud of her friend.

Now all they had to do was work on her relationship with a certain orange-haired ruffian...

Tatsuki feinted with a punch towards Orihime's head, pulling back when the girl tried to grab her arm. Orihime did a high kick, her foot headed towards Tatsuki's midsection. It was just what Tatsuki wanted; she grabbed the leg and twisted, causing Orihime to go to the ground.

They didn't kid around in their sparring matches; Feng-sensei hadn't done so, though she made sure no one got hurt.

Now on the floor, Orihime used her other leg to try and sweep Tatsuki off her feet. The dark-haired teen had to let go and jump back, and in a moment Orihime was back on her feet, in a defensive stance that mirrored Tatsuki's own. And she was giving a smile that also mirrored Tatsuki's.

Tatsuki liked that; despite what Orihime might say to the contrary, there was at least a little fire in her soul. It reminded Tatsuki of the fight in the street earlier, where Orihime had knocked the stuffing out of those thugs without even blinking.

And suddenly the thought of those people sent Tatsuki's mind back to the new transfer student.

Tatsuki hadn't had an opinion one way or the other about Kuchiki Rukia up until today; she was just some new kid. One that Ichigo seemed to have a great...

Then it hit her, almost at the same time another roundhouse kick from Orihime nearly hit her head.

"Tatsuki-chan, are you okay?"

"Yeah, my mind just wandered a little."

Orihime gave a more friendly smile this time.

"Well don't let it wander too much, or you'll be on the floor again."

Even as Tatsuki nodded and returned her friend's smile, she was going back to Ichigo and Rukia; the subject of wandering...

When Tatsuki thought about it, Ichigo hadn't been showing a great deal of interest in the new girl. It had been _Rukia_ hauling _Ichigo_ off to...well, who-knew-where.

In fact, more than a few times Tatsuki's oldest friend had looked disinterested or even hostile to the idea of going with the new girl. But she'd drag Ichigo off anyway, with no discussion or room for argument.

And judging by what happened today, she really didn't _want_ anyone else to know what the two of them were doing. Or, more to the point, what Rukia was probably _forcing_ Ichigo to do...

As the two girls finished their routine and bowed, Tatsuki couldn't help but hope Feng-sensei got here soon. Maybe she couldn't do anything about Ichigo; the woman's former student was his own 'man' now and hadn't been listening to anybody too well for the last while.

Rukia on the other hand...

"Hey, Tatsuki-chan, is there something wrong?"

She shook herself back to reality.

"No, I was just thinking about something that wasn't important. It's nothing to worry about."

Orihime looked for a moment like she wanted to press the matter, but then shrugged.

"Okay."

Tatsuki didn't like to...she didn't want to call it a 'lie'...to her friend, but she didn't want to burden Orihime with these kinds of things just yet. Besides, there was no proof that Rukia was up to anything, just suspicions that Tatsuki didn't want to act on just yet.

She looked out the outer entrance to the practice room at the now-darkening sky; Feng-sensei would likely be coming here soon. It was one reason why Tatsuki had wanted to be here tonight; the mess with Ichigo was just now turning out to be another.

"Let's take a break, Orihime; we'll get a little more sparring in and if Sensei isn't back by then we can just call it a night."

"Sounds good; I need to check some stuff in my...in the room Sensei lets me have."

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow at the slip.

"Your room? I didn't know you'd moved in Orihime..."

Orihime looked really nervous all of a sudden. She put one hand behind her head as they started walking out of the practice hall and further into the small complex of buildings that made up the rest of Furin Hall.

"It's not like that, and you know it. Sensei just gave me a room to use if I needed it and I keep some stuff there."

Tatsuki gave a conspiratorial smile.

"Oh, like your private picture gallery of Ichigo?"

"Tatsuki-chan!"

Since they were in private, Tatsuki gave a little chuckle at her own joke as they made their way down a short hall. At least, until she saw how Orihime's face was starting to turned a bright red.

Tatsuki stopped short and stared at her friend for a moment.

"Orihime, you don't..?"

Orihime's eyes went a little wide and she shook her head.

"No, I don't."

Tatsuki believed her friend's words, but the girl's tone said she wished she had one. She just shook her head as they reached the set of rooms that were Feng Shaolin's living quarters.

"Well, do whatever you're doing and I'll wait out here for you."

Orihime nodded and then disappeared behind one of the doors. As she did so, Tatsuki couldn't help but sigh and shake her head again.

She'd brought Orihime here to the dojo to toughen her up a bit; saving her constantly from bullies had gotten to be a little wearying. Not that Tatsuki minded doing it, but she had thought it would be good if her friend could defend herself.

At first it had just been Tatsuki training her, along with Ichigo; it was only later that Feng-sensei had gotten into the act. And when the older woman had heard Orihime's story, about essentially being kicked out of her family's home, her brother being dead, and her now living alone...

It seemed Sensei had a thing for hard luck cases.

It actually made Tatsuki a little jealous; she'd known Feng Shaolin for twelve years, Orihime only two. And yet who got to come and go almost as she liked in the older woman's residence?

Tatsuki sighed; now was no time for feeling inadequate.

She started walking around, waiting for Orihime to finish her business when she noticed the door to Feng-sensei's bedroom. The dark-haired teen been in there with her a few times, enough that Tatsuki was pretty sure she wouldn't get chewed out if she just took a look around.

She looked around for a moment, concentrated and checked to 'see' if the martial arts mistress was around. Sensei wasn't, so Tatsuki opened the door and helped herself into the place.

She had enough time to turn on the lights and make it to the center of the room when she heard Orihime's voice through the doorway.

"Tatsuki-chan, where did you go?"

"Over here."

It took a moment, but eventually Orihime made it to the room and peeked her head inside.

"Tatsuki-chan, this is Sensei's room, you shouldn't..."

Tatsuki just looked at her friend and shook her head sadly.

"You mean Sensei gave you permission to come over any time you wanted, and you've never been inside her room?"

Orihime shook her head vigorously.

"It wouldn't be right; I mean it is _her_ room."

Then something seemed to occur to her.

"You _have_ been in her room?"

Tatsuki beamed at her friend, who suddenly seemed to be in awe.

"Of course I have. She even showed me around a couple of times."

"Wow, Tatsuki-chan...I don't know what to say about that."

Then Orihime got the cutest pout on her face.

"But I still don't know if it's all right..."

There was something about the tone of her words that made Tatsuki a little mad; her friend was just being coy.

"You want to come in here, don't you? Admit it."

Orihime still looked very unsure.

"But she isn't here now, and..."

Tatsuki just gave an aggravated sigh and the next thing either girl knew she was going to the door and dragging her friend by the arm into the bedroom of their sensei's house. As soon as they were in the center of the room, Tatsuki let go, and Orihime backed away to rub at her arm and pout at her friend.

"Tatsuki-chan, why do you do that sort of stuff?"

"Because you're too..._squeamish_, Orihime. You need to be a little more bold, or you're never going to get anywhere in life."

The ginger-haired teen arched an eyebrow.

"Is that something from 'Feng-sensei'?"

Tatsuki looked annoyed again.

"No, that's something _I_ said. But I'd like to think that Sensei would agree with me."

She turned around and started examining the contents of the room.

"Anyway, aren't you curious to know a bit more about her?"

"You mean you don't know much about Sensei, even with all your chats with her?"

Tatsuki looked for a moment like she'd say something and then sighed.

"You got me on that one; when I'm with her I just..."

"...notice her and not much else?"

Tatsuki nodded and then started looking around the small room.

"That...and the fact that she can tell you things without telling you anything if she wants to..."

One corner of the room was occupied with a low bed, while a carpet the two girls were now standing on took up the center of the floor. Around the walls of the room were a few pictures and artifacts – a pair of what she thought might be samurai swords were prominent on one side of the room – and a full bookcase lay in another corner near the one window the room had. There was also a low desk with a laptop on it, and off to one side she could see a small closet and a small dresser next to that.

Altogether it was what Tatsuki would have probably called 'crowded but neat'.

Orihime looked around silently, a seriously impressed look on her face.

Tatsuki could only agree.

_I never noticed half of this stuff...I was too busy with Sensei..._

Especially in the months after Ichigo had left the dojo.

Feng-sensei had taken that really hard; the woman wouldn't admit it, but she had been and probably still was more worried about Ichigo's welfare than Tatsuki was. Him being taken away from her...Tatsuki had never seen her sensei so depressed...

It was kind of a scary side to the woman.

In any event, Tatsuki had spent quite a bit of time afterward trying to mend her teacher's heart; by some stroke of luck Tatsuki seemed to remind the older woman of someone she'd held dear, so it was easier than Tatsuki had dared hope. She remembered over the next few months being asked to stay overnight by Feng-sensei; they had sat in this room, chatting about school or some of the places the older woman had been to in her life.

Eventually, Sensei had recovered from her depression and they'd gotten back to a more normal relationship, but Tatsuki was still honored to call the woman a friend now, and not just a teacher.

"Uhm, Tatsuki-chan, are you all right?"

Tatsuki saw Orihime standing in front of her waving a hand. The dark-haired teen immediately sighed in exasperation, grabbed the offending hand and yanked it down.

"Yes, I'm all right; quit asking that question, will you. I was just thinking about Sensei, that's all."

Orihime smiled and pointed to one of the walls.

"I'm going to look at some of the stuff over there."

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow.

"I thought you were the one who didn't want to come in here."

"I didn't, but now that we're here..."

Orihime smiled sheepishly and shrugged, and then headed over to look at some of the pictures on the wall. Tatsuki just shook her head and tried to decide what she wanted to look at in her little clandestine 'raid'.

The computer and closet were off-limits, she knew; Feng-sensei had her limits, and besides that there wouldn't be much of interest there anyway. She already knew what kind of swimsuit sensei wore from that one trip to the beach last summer...

But there was still the bookshelf, yet another thing she'd seen but not really paid attention to before.

_Well, no time like the present..._

She walked over to the piece of furniture and started perusing the books; much like a lot of the things in the room they were a mixture of old and modern. A lot of them were what Tatsuki would have expected: there were a couple of diet books, some volumes on martial arts and its history, some on meditation. The sort of things one would have expected an instructor on any physical activity to have in their library.

But there were also some books on strange subjects as well. One or two of them were histories of notable people of Japan, but there was also one on wars in the 20th Century, another on the idea of re-incarnation, and yet another on Central American mythology. There were a few others that were as wide ranging and eclectic; they seemed to have no common thread than their owner found them interesting.

"Boy, Sensei has some weird taste in reading, doesn't she?"

Orihime came up to the bookshelf, hands behind her back, and Tatsuki could only nod in agreement. Then the ginger-haired girl seemed to notice something and pointed towards the top shelf.

"What are those?"

Tatsuki saw a number of small paperbacks sitting there, and after a moment she realized what some of them were...

"Sensei reads romance novels?"

Orihime suddenly got even more excited, even going so far as to pull one of the books down. It was of a similar size to the novels, but...

"Hey, I've got this series in my collection, too! Isn't that amazing, Tatsuki? Maybe Sensei and I are more alike than I thought!"

Tatsuki couldn't answer her friend, largely because Orihime had pulled down a _manga_ book. The idea was just a little too much for the dark-haired teen, and so she turned her attention back to the lower shelves.

One book down there in particular had caught her attention, mostly because it didn't have any title or other decoration printed on its spine. It was just plain brown leather, and it just begged for Tatsuki to see what it was.

As Orihime put the manga book back where she'd found it, Tatsuki pulled the larger one out. The front and back of it were the same as the spine: no markings of any kind on otherwise good brown leather. But she could see the pages were unusually thick, and the spine felt a little odd.

Orihime moved a little closer to see Tatsuki's find.

"I wonder what that is...?"

Tatsuki shrugged.

"I think it's some kind of photo album."

Orihime started looking troubled.

"Then put it back."

"Why? We could learn a lot about Sensei, and I don't think it would hurt anything."

Orihime paused for a moment and then nodded assent, though she still didn't look so sure about this.

Tatsuki opened the book and started looking through it. To her surprise the pictures in the front weren't of some vacation or martial arts tournaments; in fact none of them had been taken in Japan. From the architecture in some of them, she'd have bet most of them were from somewhere in Europe, and she would have thought they were of friends or something by the 'feel' of them.

But the pictures were too old; all of them were either black and white or...some were in shades of brown. It was obvious some care had been taken to keep them intact, but even then the sheer age of the paper had begun to yellow them a little.

And there was also the fact that the people were dressed in outfits that belonged to the turn of the last century. The few paved roads she could see in the pictures were of stone, and the cars on them would have been collector's items today, like the Model T in one photo.

Orihime came in closer to look at the photos.

"Wow, I didn't think Sensei was into collecting stuff like this..."

Tatsuki continued to flip through some of the pages; if she had to guess, they seemed to be in some rough chronological order.

"I know...it's kind of neat, though..."

She stopped at one black and white picture in particular: a small brick house, somewhere in a thick forest during summer. Around two dozen people were sitting and standing in front of the place for what was obviously a formal portrait. In particular was the fact that half a dozen of the people were wearing white outfits; one distinguished-looking gentleman even had a white cape with what Tatsuki assumed was gold braid.

"Didn't Ishida-san used to wear stuff like that?"

Tatsuki nodded her head a little; she'd picked up on the same thing.

"Yeah, and his grandfather ran around in that sort of..."

Orihime waited for a moment.

"What is it?"

Tatsuki didn't say anything; she merely pointed at what had caught her attention. Sitting on one side of the congregation in the photo was a teenaged Asian woman in a black, or maybe dark-colored, dress. She had a somewhat nervous smile on her face, as though she knew she didn't quite belong with all the Europeans around her, but Tatsuki didn't feel any hostility coming from the other people towards the woman.

The woman's hair was longer, and she was younger but still...

"That looks kind of like Sensei..."

Tatsuki turned to Orihime, who now seemed to be fascinated by the photo album.

"Yeah, I know. It's probably her great-grandmother or something; I mean, look at how old the photo is."

To prove the point, Tatsuki carefully drew out the photo; she ignored the scandalized gasp from her friend. Turning the photo over she was rewarded with the fact there was writing on the back. It looked like German, which she couldn't read, but she was able to make out what looked like the date.

"1914..."

Even as Tatsuki put the photo back Orihime was shaking her head.

"I can't imagine going that far away back then. Sensei must be from a whole line of world-travelers."

Tatsuki just smiled and turned her attention back to the book.

"So this is a family album, huh? I'm not surprised, seeing the way she is with the..."

An evil idea came to her mind and she waited until Orihime decided to prod her.

"Tatsuki-chan, what is it?"

The evil idea became a grin on her face as Tatsuki began to flip rapidly through the pages.

"I'm just wondering how far forward these pictures go... Maybe we can find some embarrassing ones of Ichigo."

She paused when she noticed the look on Orihime's face.

"When he was a baby."

"Oh, yes, yes...of course..."

Tatsuki just shook her head and continued flipping forward.

As she did so the world the photos depicted seemed to go forward in time; the vehicles and fashions in the photos became more recent and the paper they were on tended to be in better condition. As she went, she saw pictures from various parts of the world: cities and small towns, and more than a few of waterfalls or mountains or other scenic places Tatsuki was sure were at least a week away from any human habitation.

She stopped at one point to look at a couple of pictures of an utterly devastated city, only a few charred husks of buildings standing out on plains of ash and rubble. People were wandering through the wreckage, trying to pick something of value from out of the ruins.

Tatsuki realized it was Tokyo after the firebombings; she shook her head at that.

"Man, to go through something like that; it makes you appreciate the times you live in..."

Orihime nodded solemnly.

Tatsuki continued to flip through the pages; now they were starting to turn to color, and she noticed the pictures tended to be places she recognized from around Japan, especially Tokyo. She distractedly watched as the city and its environs slowly rose again from the ashes, turning into the metropolis it now was.

She noticed something missing, though; none of the photos had any of Feng-sensei's ancestors in them. There were plenty of people in the photos, but no one Tatsuki was certain looked related to the owner of the album.

After a bit, Tatsuki shrugged it off; those photos could have been somewhere else, or maybe the woman's family was camera-shy. It was just annoying, that was all; sensei had never talked about her family before, except for a couple or three slips...

The matter disappeared from her mind as Tatsuki finally started seeing her sensei's face in the pages. The first one was of a teenaged girl looking out towards a distant Mt. Fuji.

"That's weird...Feng-sensei looks just like her ancestor..."

Tatsuki could only nod in agreement to Orihime's statement.

The teenaged Feng Shaolin was dressed in black and her hair was longer than it was today, which only served to heighten the similarity with the woman in the earlier picture. But Tatsuki paid it no mind; more than a few people she knew looked like their parents or some other relative.

She flipped some more pages and soon found herself staring at...

"Ah...this is more like it..."

There was a photo of Feng-sensei together with what had to be a young Kurosaki Isshin and Ishida Ryuuken. It was nighttime and they were standing in front of a bar or nightclub of some sort; she was somewhat older in this picture, her early twenties Tatsuki would have guess because they all looked a little drunk. The smiling faces on her sensei and Ichigo's dad Tatsuki expected, but it blew her out of the water a little to see Uryuu's dad _smiling_ like he meant it.

"Hey, look!"

Tatsuki turned her attention to the photo Orihime was pointing at. This time it was a day picture in a park of some kind; a smiling Isshin was the centerpiece, with Sensei on his right, and a younger Masaki on the other side. Everyone was smiling, but Tatsuki could see that her teacher's was...uncomfortable, like she didn't want to be there or she was intruding on something...

Ichigo's dad, of course, was completely oblivious to this...

"I thought they were friends..."

"Oh they were, Orihime; it's just it always seemed to me from what Sensei said every now and again that they competed over Ichigo's dad when they were younger. By the time I knew them they'd pretty much gotten over all that."

Orihime seemed to think about that for a moment.

"What?"

"It's nothing Tatsuki-chan. I was just thinking it's a little like Kuchiki-san and me over Kurosaki-kun."

Tatsuki just started staring at her friend, who then proceeded to smile brightly.

"Hey, you think if the two of us fight over him, we can make up and be friends that way?"

Tatsuki just continued to stare at Orihime for a minute and then turned back to the album.

"What?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it..."

Even as she said the words, Tatsuki wondered; in the picture Sensei had looked a little like Orihime whenever she was near Ichigo.

_Maybe Orihime isn't out of her mind after all..._

She flipped forward a few more pages. More pictures appeared of Feng-sensei and Ichigo's parents, and then suddenly the woman was alone again. And there was a certain sadness in her posture that spoke to Tatsuki.

Tatsuki knew who had won the competition for Isshin's heart, of course, and Sensei never talked about it, but...

_Man, she really took it hard, didn't she...?_

She continued on, the pictures changing to cities around the world, Feng-sensei emulating her ancestor.

And she had company on the trip too; a teenager who appeared in several photos. They were both smiling happily with Hong Kong in the background, while the next picture showed them about to get into a fight somewhere with San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in view.

Orihime's eyes went wide as she looked at the other girl in the pictures.

"Wait a minute...isn't that?"

Tatsuki shook her head.

"It can't be, the photos are too old."

"Then maybe it's her mother?"

Tatsuki wasn't sure what to say; it sure looked like the Sarugaki-san she'd seen. A short girl about Tatsuki's age stood by Feng-sensei, her long blond hair in a pair of ponytails, and honey-colored eyes set in a round face. And she was wearing a jumpsuit in the same shade of red that...Tatsuki had to believe it was her daughter or niece or something...wore on TV.

It was just plain weird.

Tatsuki looked at her friend for a moment; Orihime seemed only slightly less confused that Tatsuki did.

"If it is, then she practically cloned herself."

For a moment, Orihime was lost in thought, and then a smiled crossed her face.

"Hey, Tatsuki, do you think since Sensei knows the family, we might be able to get tickets?"

Tatsuki wondered for a moment what her friend was talking about and then shook her head yet again – this time in disgust – when she figured it out.

"Come on, Orihime; she's our sensei, not a ticket vendor."

"Yeah, I know, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. I heard someone say they're doing a show around here soon and..."

Tatsuki sighed in defeat.

"All right, all right we can see about that. But let's wait until later, okay?"

Orihime smiled and nodded while Tatsuki held the book in her hands for a moment. She'd never known Sensei to be into history like that; there was no indication of it in her everyday life, but she also knew everyone had hobbies and harbored secrets.

And one such secret was beginning to make itself manifest in Tatsuki's mind...

Feng-sensei was near.

Though she honestly did want to continue looking through it, Tatsuki made a show of closing the album and looking at her friend. Orihime had a puzzled expression.

"Why'd you close the book?"

Tatsuki sighed as she slid the album back into its place on the bookshelf.

"We need to get back to the practice hall; I think Sensei said she'd be coming by about now."

She smiled at Orihime.

"Besides, would you rather have her finding us hard at work training or looking through her room?"

"You were the one who wanted to come in here."

Even as they walked out of the room and closed the door, Tatsuki continued to smile at her friend's now-pouting face.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Well, if Sensei gives us grief I'll say I forced you into it, okay?"

Orihime still looked unsure, but after a moment she nodded.

"Okay."

That settled, the two girls started heading back to the practice room. In the back of Tatsuki's mind the suspicion that Feng-sensei was returning had become a near certainty.

Tatsuki didn't think of the woman as a literal goddess anymore; that sort of thing was crazy, she knew. But she still considered her teacher to be...special.

Among the many things that had drawn Tatsuki to the older woman was the fact that there had always been something exotic about her. Maybe it was that the martial arts mistress was foreign, but not too foreign; though she was thoroughly Japanese in her action and mindset, Feng Shaolin was almost certainly of Chinese ancestry, and she knew several martial styles beyond karate.

And beyond that, Tatsuki had been able to tell that sensei knew things – things she didn't dare teach the other class members and kept strictly to herself. It was probably...whatever it was that the woman had wanted to teach Ichigo, and was considering teaching Karin.

Of course, Tatsuki being who she was, she wanted to see what the big secret was about.

As she and Orihime returned to the practice room, Tatsuki's mind went back to the days and nights spent here and at home trying to copy the breathing and meditation exercises the older woman had been using for the last several years.

It was one of those things that had seemed so simple to do and yet so hard to get right, never mind 'master'. She'd spent hour after hour, trying to come up with the proper routines, and then secretly watching Feng-sensei to see what she was doing wrong, and then back to practicing in private again. It had been hard, and Tatsuki had almost given up a couple of times, but she kept on with it.

And eventually it had worked; half a year ago she'd done it. She thought...

Even as the two girls stood facing each other, Tatsuki began centering herself, just as she had when they'd first arrived at Furin Hall. It didn't take long, gathering her her energies and tuning herself into the surrounding area; it was pretty cheesy terminology, she knew, but it was the best way she could describe it.

By the time she hand Orihime were bowing to each other, Tatsuki was finished and she could just feel the connection.

It was more like intuition than anything else – she could 'feel' the presence of people and animals, and to a lesser extent the plants in the area around her; Orihime was particularly strong, though Tatsuki was sure it was because of their close connection. Tatsuki could also 'tell' when someone was about to take a physical action, which helped her dodge things like the the two punches followed by a kick that Orihime launched against her.

She didn't usually use it too much outside of practice; it took too long for it to be used before a real fight, and it could be annoying sometimes. And whenever she thought she had it 'on', Tatsuki couldn't help but be weird-ed out and even a little nervous around Ichigo's 'vibe'. Then again, considering the way he was headed she wasn't surprised with that...

There was also the fact that, frankly, Tatsuki had been disappointed at the results of her self-training; some part of her had been hoping for something more...'impressive'. But then again, she was just starting; Feng-sensei had been doing this for much longer.

Tatsuki was pretty sure she'd gotten on the right road, at least. It occurred to her as she tried and failed to grapple Orihime that the intuition she'd gotten earlier about the Kuchiki girl and some other times the last few months was similar to what she was feeling right now, but not as intense.

And she hadn't even done the meditation until this evening.

As she continued to spar with Orihime, Tatsuki could feel Feng-sensei's presence solidify in her mind.

Or rather, the woman's lack of presence...

It was what made some insane part of Tatsuki's mind wonder if the woman was a ninja or something. Unlike everyone else she knew, Feng Shaolin had no 'presence', triggered nothing in Tatsuki's intuition; she was like some kind of 'blank spot' in the world. And that was how Tatsuki could tell it was her idol approaching Furin Hall right now, 'hiding' herself from the world though she might.

It was one more thing that made Sensei so cool.

* * *

><p><em>The dojo was empty right now, the lights turned off; all of the students had long-since gone home for the day, and Shaolin was left to her thoughts. They were dark and cold like the late autumn evening outside; she hesitated to use the term 'storm' for what was going on out there, but the wind had a chill and she'd left the outer door open so the cool breeze could stimulate her a little.<em>

_She looked towards the side of the room, where various uniforms were usually left in place. There was one missing now._

_Ichigo was gone._

_Shaolin wasn't surprised; after all, Ichigo had just recently beaten Tatsuki in a match. There had been talk after that about teaching him even further, perhaps getting him to his black belt, and vague talk of formal competitions. But in the end Kurosaki Isshin had been almost falling all over himself to remove his son from Furin Hall._

_The man had had excuses ready, of course: that his son had learned all he needed to; that 'belts' were just to hold your pants up; that Ichigo wasn't the kind for tournaments..._

_But there was also the matter of Masaki._

_Shaolin was on speaking terms with her old friend again, had been for the last couple of years. But she was sure there was still a wound, an unspoken rift between them that would never go away. And now, in her mind, it had been confirmed._

_Besides, Ichigo was getting involved in fights at school and being surly and abusive around the other students. And since the father's power flowed through the son's veins, the orange-haired boy...no, teenager...was becoming almost freakishly strong and durable. Shaolin was waiting for the day when she'd hear that Ichigo had killed some poor fool in a pointless fight or joined some vicious gang or other, and she thanked the gods that he hadn't turned that attitude against his own family._

_The loss of his beloved mother had done this to him._

_And now the smiling, sunny boy was becoming a juvenile delinquent._

_That special child...and the man he might have been..._

_They were gone._

_And it was all Shaolin's fault._

_Now she was sitting here, semi-meditating, and trying to figure out what to do._

_Maybe turn over the reins here for a while and do some soul-searching in the mountains..._

_Or maybe track down Hiyori and see if she wanted to do something fun..._

_Or maybe finally bring herself to speak with Ryuuken..._

"_I can see you, Feng Shaolin."_

_The ex-shinigami's heart stopped._

_That voice..._

_The playful, almost impish way the words were said..._

_And yet it wasn't _quite_ right..._

"_What are you doing here anyway? I mean it's so dreary in here... Don't you have someone to spend the evening with?"_

_The voice was a little harsh and high-pitched. But that might not mean anything..._

_Could it be...?_

_She started turning to the source of the words._

"_Yorui..."_

_A part of Shaolin's heart sank as she saw it wasn't the noblewoman who was standing in front of the rear door. The figure's hair was far too short, and she was wearing the wrong clothes; it took a moment for the assassin to realize what she was seeing._

_A young woman in a sailor suit..._

"_Tatsuki?"_

_It was disappointing at first, but as Shaolin looked closer..._

_The way the girl was holding herself, proud and independent, and yet restrained. Power and elegance were there, though understandably in a cruder form due to Tatsuki's youth._

_And in the dim light..._

"_Sensei, are you all right?"_

_The look of concern and the use of the term brought Shaolin out of it enough to answer. But that voice..._

_How could she have not noticed that and other similarities before...?_

"_Yes...yes Tatsuki-chan...I'm just...thinking..."_

_Shaolin hadn't seen her former mistress after that battle. No trace, just vanished._

"_It's about Ichigo, isn't it?"_

_Shaolin could only nod, and hope that she wasn't staring too obviously at her best student. Who was now coming up to her...with the same walk..._

_And then the girl knelt down in front of her teacher...just like..._

"_Don't worry, it's going to be all right, sensei."_

"Don't worry, Sui-chan, it'll be all right."

_It made such clear sense to her now, even though some part of Shaolin knew she was deluding herself. But she found herself thinking back on all the times she'd been with Tatsuki...and the girl was young enough..._

_Gods_, Tatsuki...are you...?

"_Sensei, you're starting to scare me. You said something about a Yoru-someone and now you're staring at me..."_

_Shaolin immediately shook herself back into the real world and started picking herself up, Tatsuki standing back up as well._

"_I-I'm sorry Tatsuki-chan. It's just I...I realized you reminded me of someone."_

_The girl arched an eyebrow._

"_This Yoru..."_

"_Shihouin Yoruichi. Someone I looked up to a great deal when I was your age."_

_Tatsuki's concern returned._

"_You sound like this 'Yoruichi' is...well..."_

"_Gone?"_

_Tatsuki nodded._

_Shaolin debated in herself for a moment, and then made her decision._

"_I'm not sure if she is, we haven't really been on the best of terms for a while. But that isn't important. What's important is the here and now." She raised an eyebrow. "Come to think of it, why are you here this late?"_

_The girl looked uncomfortable for a moment, and then seemed to gather her courage._

"_I know you're close to the Kurosakis, sensei, and with the way Ichigo's been going lately, I figured you were pretty bummed and so..."_

_Shaolin sighed and looked down for a moment._

"_I'm sorry about him Tatsuki-"_

"_Why?"_

_The question made Shaolin look her student in the eyes again. Very serious eyes that wanted to convey something important from their owner._

"_Sensei, if Ichigo's turning into a jerk, then that's his fault. It's not yours. Okay?"_

_Shaolin wasn't sure what to do for a moment, and then she just smiled._

"_All right."_

_Tatsuki smiled as well for a moment and then began to head for the door. Her face said she wanted to stay, though..._

"_Tatsuki-chan...?"_

_The girl stopped and turned._

"_Yes?"_

"_Would you...like to stay the night...if your parents are okay with it?"_

_Tatsuki stopped for a moment and looked at her stunned._

"_What...why?"_

_Shaolin gave a smile she hoped didn't have too much sadness in it._

"_You've always been my best student, Tatsuki-chan. But...I was wondering if you would be my friend also...?"_

_Even as the girl began lighting up the room with her smile, Shaolin felt her heart go light for the first time in a long while._

Maybe you are Yoruichi-sama's re-incarnation, Tatsuki. If not, then no harm is done; you are a fine student.

But if you are...

Thank you gods, for giving me a second chance. I will _not_ squander it, I promise.

* * *

><p>A few months later, Shihouin Yoruichi had shown up at Kisuke's place, just as 'alive' as the black cat she saw across the street from Furin Hall.<p>

Shaolin hadn't known how to feel about that; the interval between the revelations had been some of the best times she'd had since she'd left Soul Society. And it had definitely formed a bond the ex-shinigami treasured, another friend in her small circle.

One that still didn't seem to include Yoruichi-sama...

The ex-shinigami shook her head; now was not the time to be thinking of such things. She was standing outside her current home; the former center of her universe could wait.

If she pressed herself, Shaolin would have had to admit that there were more...memorable dojo than Furin Hall. She still had fond memories of her days in the Feng Clan's own sparring chambers, and there was the massive complex devoted to martial arts in the Academy in Soul Society, itself just one piece of an even grander facility. Even in the Living World during her many travels, Shaolin had seen places that were more ornate or more impressive.

That said, there was something about Karakura's premiere facility for the martial arts that made it lodge in the ex-shinigami's mind. Maybe it was some intangible quality of the area, a mix of the quaint housing, quiet streets and close-knit community of suburban Japan. Maybe it was the fact that the place had been here in one form or another for longer than Shaolin herself had existed...or so she'd been told.

Or maybe it was just that she figured this place as being 'her' dojo; she did quietly have title to the property, after all. But there was the fact that Karakura was where her her fellow exiles lived, it was where she kept coming back to, and it was where she repeatedly found friends of hers coming to over the years.

Like it or not, and she didn't hate the idea, Karakura was as much of a home as she had in the Living World. Some bit of permanence in this quicksilver world she'd been living in these past hundred years...

Standing outside the building right now, she took in the scent of the flowers and flowering bushes she'd had planted here years ago. The assassin thought they made a nice counterpoint to the building's wood and white-washed walls and tile roof, and in any case it reminded her a little more of her childhood. The fragrance not only was pleasing, but it got her 'in the mood' for training people in martial arts.

And it also covered the smell of the sea...

Shaolin shook away the second dark thought she'd had in as many minutes and headed into the small house at the side of the complex, pausing only to take off her shoes inside the doorway. She felt even better as she made her way through the short hallways and small rooms of the house she had attached to the dojo proper. The feel of the wooden floors added to her impression of having traveled back to her younger days.

"_Are we there yet?"_

And then here was Hana to remind her how old she was again...

"Don't you have a GPS in there somewhere?"

"_Yes, but I thought I would mess with you again."_

"You're not getting the gigai anytime soon, Hana, so leave it alone and go back to your game."

There was another pause, and Shaolin was sure the artificial soul was sighing in frustration.

Her thoughts about that were banished as she heard the sounds of people sparring in the main practice hall. It raised an eyebrow from her, as it was getting late enough even at this time of year that she was contemplating using the electrical lights to see by. She started walking towards the hall, trying to place the voices and opening her senses to the energies of these people.

And then she smiled as she felt the reiatsu of two very familiar people flowing past her like a gentle breeze. She'd long since learned to ignore the pressure exerted by the spirits of the Living World; most people and things didn't have much energy, and so it turned into a sort of background noise for her kind.

But some people had stronger souls, and those she took interest in. There were a lot of such people in Karakura; Ichigo, for example, was a wild typhoon of power that she could feel if she bothered to not tune it out. And the Quincys of the Ishida Clan felt like nature that had been tamed, not unlike the concreted rivers that flowed through Karakura.

Feeling these two, however, relieved some of the tension in Shaolin. She reached the doorway that led into the main practice hall and then stood in the shadows, watching as her two prize students sparred and enjoying the feel of their energy.

Inoue Orihime, her ginger hair flowing like her reiatsu as she did her stances and tried to attack her partner, caught Shaolin's attention first this day. She remembered when Tatsuki had brought the girl in: 'a friend' the favored student had said 'who needed help dealing with bullies'. She'd had the look of someone who had lost most everything in her life, so of course Shaolin had been willing to help.

Now the shy young girl was becoming a confident young woman. There was still work to do, of course; Tatsuki had been hinting at a crush Orihime had with Ichigo, and Shaolin didn't have a problem with it.

In fact, the ex-shinigami thought it a fine idea. Orihime was a bit of an airhead, and her cooking was...an 'acquired taste', but she was a good girl. And Ichigo had to be blind not to notice the young lady's fine looks; even at the age of fifteen she had curves that made many boys stare at her, but she also had a grace and fluidity along with those assets that made Shaolin feel a little jealous at times.

Yes...as soon as the current mess with the newcomer was dealt with, she'd have to have a long talk with Orihime.

And as for Tatsuki...

Shaolin was pretty sure what first drew her to her favorite student was the girl's resiliency; that first time they'd met all those years ago, she'd been practicing with some of her reiatsu flowing, and it hadn't seemed to faze the girl. Tatsuki had only grown stronger in that respect over the years, and the assassin appreciated that she could relax and 'cut loose' a bit around her without hurting her.

It was very good having a true sparring partner again.

Even though she knew the girl wasn't Yoruichi-sama reborn, Shaolin still considered the dark-haired young woman now throwing her best friend to the ground to be very special.

Just like Ichigo had been...

In Tatsuki's case, there was the fiery attitude and the speed with which the young girl absorbed all Shaolin had to teach her. The way she acted, restrained and yet so independent; she was so confident that she could take on the world and come out the champ. And have a fun time in the process.

Add the feel of her energies and the tone of her voice now that she was becoming a young woman...

And then Orihime's carefree and vibrant joy, and her skill at martial arts...

She would never tell anyone, but the assassin loved watching these two spar in particular, or do anything together for that matter. It allowed her to do a little daydreaming, a little what-if in her mind as she watched the two interact.

Tatsuki was of course Yoruichi-sama, taking the lead in most things, being clear-eyed and down to earth about life. And Orihime was a young Shaolin: energetic, emotional, and maybe a little naive, and more than happy to let her friend take the reins of whatever they did. There was no class difference between them, no pressing duties or schedules; just the glorious beauty of young friendship.

She absorbed this for a little more, trying very hard to ignore the sounds of Hana play fighting in who-knew-where, and then decided to get down to business. She set the bag she was carrying down on the floor and waited for a proper opening in the match.

"That kick's a little high."

The dark-haired girl simply smiled and then finished the move before answering.

"You think so, sensei?"

Orihime realized what was going on now and beamed as Shaolin came into the room to face the two girls.

"Well, there's that tournament you're going to Tatsuki-chan; you'll be up against the best, and they won't go easy on you."

"I don't plan to go easy on them, sensei; I intend to win that tournament."

Shaolin set her bag down on the floor.

"You'd better win; I'd hate to have you damage the honor of this school."

All three women smiled and then bowed politely to each other. That over they engaged in a group hug, and for a moment Shaolin let her cares go; she even ignored the fact that she could still hear Hana playing her game or whatever it was.

After a moment, the three of them separated and continued to smile at each other.

"It's good to have you back, sensei. I...we both missed you."

Orihime nodded in agreement and it made Shaolin's heart feel light.

"I missed the two of you as well. And I'll have to admit I missed Karakura as well."

She shook her head to clear it and then knelt down to open the bag.

"Let me see here, my last tribute of the day..."

She pulled out a small pendant on a thin gold chain; the pendant itself was a a dark agate cameo carving of a cat staring off towards the viewer. Shaolin wasn't sure how Tatsuki felt about cats, but she could see from her student's wide-eyed expression that the gift was more than adequate.

"Oh...no, sensei, I couldn't..."

Shaolin sighed in mock exasperation.

"Please, Tatsuki-chan, I'd like it if you'd accept this on my behalf. Your birthday isn't too far away, is it?"

The dark-haired teen bowed quickly and then took the proffered item.

"Thanks, sensei, I really appreciate it..."

"_She's easily impressed..."_

Shaolin kept the annoyance she felt at Hana's comment off her face and pulled out a cloth choker with a cameo bird on it. She then turned to Orihime.

"And will you please accept my offer to you, Inoue-san?"

The ginger-haired teen took a moment, but then beamed and nodded her head. Taking the choker she quickly put it around her neck and modeled it a little for the other two women there.

"Thank you so much, sensei!"

"_Gods, will you people stop that? I can hardly concentrate on my game..."_

Shaolin knew she'd be concentrating her fist into Hana the next time the latter got to use the gigai. Then again, maybe that was why Hana always wanted the gigai; maybe she was turning into one of those people who spent their whole lives locked in their room with only a console and a TV giving them company.

She'd have to ask Kisuke one of these days if that was possible.

"How was your trip, sensei?"

Tatsuki's question brought Shaolin back to the present and to the training hall in particular. She took a moment to think about what to tell them; she had a feeling Orihime wouldn't mind a story about 'vampire' hunting, but Tatsuki would probably just think her mentor was messing with her.

"Oh, it went okay...kind of strenuous, but okay."

Orihime got a sort of dreamy look on her face.

"It must have been amazing, sensei, traveling through Europe, I mean hiking and seeing those stone castles and meeting all those interesting people..."

"_She has absolutely _no_ idea..."_

Shaolin affected a tired smile; it was only partly an act. The girl was hitting the proverbial nail a little hard on the head for the ex-shinigami's comfort.

"Yeah, it was interesting, Inoue-san; I'll talk about it later. But how have the two of you been?"

Orihime waved a dismissive hand even as she gave a nervous smile.

"There hasn't really been much going on, sensei. Classes, a couple of fights, some transfers...you know, high school stuff..."

Tatsuki glowered at her companion.

"Have you forgotten a certain beast who's been trying to make advances on you...?"

"Tatsuki-chan..."

Shaolin turned to the taller teen, looking at her now even more sheepish face with concern.

"Inoue-san, is there some guy giving you trouble at school?"

The assassin's mind whirled with possibilities about what was going on, and ways of how to deal with said possibilities...

"No, it's this girl named Honshou Chizuru."

Except for _that_ possibility.

"_Inoue Orihime – equal opportunity sex goddess."_

Even as Shaolin was wrapping her mind around that, Tatsuki continued.

"The woman is shameless, sensei; she's been literally throwing herself at Orihime practically since school began."

"It's not that bad..."

Shaolin held up a hand to silence Tatsuki, and then looked up into Orihime's eyes.

"Do you like this girl doing these things to you?"

The ginger-haired teen was still looking uncomfortable.

"Well...I... No...not really...but..."

Shaolin sighed and tried to put on a friendly face.

"Inoue-san, if you don't like what she's doing, then you need to tell her to stop right now. Otherwise she'll assume you like it and keep doing it." She held up her hand again to stop Orihime from protesting. "The longer you wait on this, the worse it will be when she finds out the truth. Trust me on this, okay?"

Orihime looked unsure for a minute, and then smiled and bowed.

"Thank you, Sensei. I'll...try to follow your advice."

Tatsuki held up a fist.

"And if she doesn't listen – and I'm sure she won't – then I'll give that witch one of these."

Now Orihime rolled her eyes as her smile turned long-suffering. Shaolin inwardly sighed and just prayed that she had managed to affect things enough that this problem wouldn't be appearing again.

She had enough to deal with now.

Turning to the door, the assassin saw the sky darkening rapidly; Karakura wasn't a dangerous town by any means, but it still wasn't good to have two attractive young women wandering around the streets after dark. She looked back at her two students and yawned before continuing on.

"It's been nice meeting you two again, but I need to get some sleep and you have school tomorrow."

Orihime took the hint and nodded her head.

"Thanks, Sensei. Oh, could I get a snack in the kitchen before we go?"

Shaolin shook her head ruefully.

"You eat like an elephant sometimes, you know that?"

"_And how she avoids _looking_ like one is one of the great mysteries of the universe."_

Now Orihime looked embarrassed again; Shaolin smiled at her.

"Go ahead, Inoue-san, I don't mind."

Orihime bowed, said a quick thanks, and headed for the inner entrance of the hall.

The other two women stood there for a moment watching her leave, and then Shaolin noticed that Tatsuki looked a little uneasy.

"What is it, Tatsuki-chan?"

The dark-haired teen seemed to be uncharacteristically unsure of what to say, or whether to say anything at all. Finally she took in a breath and exhaled, and then looked Shaolin in the eyes.

"Sensei, can I have a word with you?"

Shaolin smiled at her student.

"Of course, anytime."

Tatsuki still looked uncomfortable, and it was another moment before she sighed and started in.

"It's about Ichigo...I didn't want to say this in front of Orihime, but I think he may be getting himself in some serious trouble."

"_Oh good gods..._more_ trouble?"_

Shaolin decided not to comment on Hana's words, but she was in complete agreement. What else had he gotten himself into?

Some of that worry must have crossed over into her expression, because Tatsuki immediately picked up on something.

"Sensei, do you know anything about this?"

Shaolin cursed herself for being so obvious and then shook her head.

"No, not about what you were going to say, anyway. There's just been some things going on that I'm concerned with, but that you shouldn't worry about. Now what was this about Ichigo?"

Tatsuki looked hesitant again.

"There's a new transfer student in our class; she came in several days ago..."

"_'New transfer student': _always_ a good sign..."_

Shaolin shook her head at both Hana and Tatsuki's words.

"I take it Ichigo's been seeing her?"

"Seeing her? The two of them are almost inseparable; they're always out together, and half the time she's dragging him off and getting him to cut class."

Shaolin looked off I the direction Orihime had gone.

"Well, Inoue-san's got competition, but how does that-"

Tatsuki sighed again, and the look of worry in her face deepened.

"Sensei, this started _immediately_ after she transferred; the first day, in fact. He has to have known her from somewhere else, maybe back in junior high. But none of us have ever seen or heard of her before, and I know she isn't from around here."

Shaolin all of a sudden got the feeling that Hana had just 'put down' whatever game she had been playing and was now paying full attention to the conversation.

"_Are you starting to get a bad feeling about this...?"_

Shaolin sighed again.

"And you're concerned about this why?"

"Because not long ago those White Tengu jerks showed up, and I'm sure they'd love to get their hands on someone like him."

"The who?"

Tatsuki shook her head irritation.

"A bunch of bikers who showed up here while you were gone. They're a bunch of idiots, really, but then Ichigo might be their kind of idiot."

Shaolin nodded as she began to understand.

"And so they may have offered up a pretty little 'enticement' to get him to join?"

Tatsuki nodded, and it made the ex-shinigami groan inwardly.

Too many problems; Shaolin got a picture in her mind's-eye of having to fend off rowdy teenaged boys and a conniving vixen while saving them all from a horde of Hollows. And with Ichigo smack in the middle of it all...

"What's the girl's name?"

"Kuchiki Rukia."

Shaolin's blood ran a little cold as some hazy fears from earlier re-materialized.

"_'Kuchiki'...and not 'Shiba'?"_

The ex-shinigami showed no sign of acknowledging Hana's words even as she agreed with them, and she managed to keep her emotions from her face for Tatsuki's benefit.

"What does she look like?"

Pleased to see that her request hadn't fallen on deaf ears, Tatsuki's voice became eager.

"Well, like I said, she follows him around all the time. Just look for the short girl next to Ichigo and that's her."

Shaolin arched an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry...'short'?

"Sorry, sensei. It's just she's my age and she's going on Yuzu or Karin's size."

Inwardly, the assassin smiled and thanked the gods for at least one small favor; finally she'd be dealing with someone other than children that she could literally look down on. A rare treat, and a welcome one in this case.

She smiled up at her student to put the younger woman at ease.

"It's all right. And thank you for telling me about this. I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything; where Ichigo is concerned, I have 'limited authority' after all."

Tatsuki smiled herself and bowed.

"Thank you, sensei. I'll leave it in your hands."

"_For now, anyway..."_

Shaolin almost wanted to throw the cell-phone Hana was in across the room for that quip. But she decided that would be too dramatic and instead watched as Orihime re-appeared in the entrance and tried to offer Tatsuki some kind of late snack she'd made. Tatsuki wisely refused and Shaolin only had to shake her head; she wasn't sure what kind of culinary monstrosity Orihime had come up with this time.

She just hoped she didn't have to politely join in.

Turning and heading over to the outside entrance of the practice room, Shaolin made a show of checking the lock and starting the procedure of making sure everything was in order for the night in case the girls came back. She spent a minute doing that before sighing a little and getting to the business at hand with her gikongan.

"So...we're dealing with a Kuchiki..."

"_That would fit the profile we have been building so far."_

Shaolin nodded while keeping an eye on the other two girls.

"Still...a Kuchiki? They're law-and-order types; they're not the kind to go goofing around. And certainly not getting intimate with peasants."

"_Or if one of them is that kind, they probably keep the miscreant safely out of sight."_

Shaolin shook her head as she looked over some of the pictures decorating the walls.

"No; I traveled in those circles, Hana, and I met some of the Kuchiki. A person like that would have never been allowed out of the family compound, much less Soul Society. It would be a stain on their 'impeccable honor'."

"_If that is the case, then...how come we sensed the presence of someone very much like Ichigo...?"_

Shaolin stopped and felt her shoulders sag a little; her spirits were doing the same.

"I don't know, Hana...I don't want to think-"

"_You have to. You have to consider the possibility that Ichigo might be-"_

"All right, I get it!"

At the minor outburst, Shaolin turned to look to where the teenagers were; their conversation dimmed for a moment, but then resumed just as before. The assassin breathed a small sigh of relief; she didn't want her students thinking she had lost her mind.

As for Ichigo... The idea that _he_ was somehow the new shinigami in the area...it fit the evidence, but that was just nuts.

Unless...

"Aw man, you don't think she used that ritual..."

"_What ritual?"_

Shaolin shook her head and continued looking over the room even as she felt the anger rising in her.

"There's a way a shinigami can give their powers...some of them...to a living human for a little while."

"_I assume it is dangerous?"_

Shaolin didn't answer; she just stood in the middle of the practice room floor trying not to let the anger or frustration overtake her.

"I'm going to..."

"_Kill her?"_

Shaolin wanted to; wanted the high-born twit here so she could be torn apart where she stood for messing with other peoples' lives. But decades of deference and indoctrination slowly overcame the anger...

After a moment she simply clenched her fists and felt the energy go out of her body.

"No...no I'll just...talk to her...I guess..."

"_Shaolin?"_

There was actual concern in Hana's voice this time; the ex-shinigami appreciated it, but couldn't enjoy it.

She was just tired...

"I can't do anything to her, Hana; it really would be more trouble than it's worth. I'll just have to talk to her and hope for the best."

There was nothing for a moment.

"_You know, if the picture we are painting of the situation is true, where are the Kuchiki?"_

Shaolin stopped.

"What?"

"_Let us assume Kuchiki Rukia is our person, and maybe we can also assume the gigai she has is one of those 'special' ones jii-sama makes. So to Soul Society's eyes she would have seemed to disappear off the face of the Earth, wouldn't she?"_

Shaolin's anger and depression evaporated completely, to be replaced by fear. The girl wasn't from an affiliate clan or house of the Kuchiki; her name said she was from the main branch of the clan. She was therefore _automatically_ one of the most important people in Soul Society.

And if she had 'just disappeared'...in a place that was supposed to be 'safe'...

"I see what you're saying, Hana... This place should be crawling with search parties looking for her. Or at least there should be _someone_ looking for her here; I mean, they know where she was assigned and Karakura doesn't cover _that_ much area..."

"_Well, since Tatsuki-san was talking about her, we know they haven't found her yet; they would have wiped everybody's memories otherwise."_

Shaolin just shook her head as the depression began to return; now she probably had to worry about agents of the Soul Society chasing after her and being chased by her..._again_...

"Gods-damnit..."

It was another minute before Hana broke in again.

"_On another note, what exactly does this ritual you were talking about earlier involve?"_

Shaolin sighed.

"You take a zanpaktou and run it through a human's heart; if it works, then half the power of the shinigami performing the ritual goes to the human for a few hours."

Hana took a while to answer; Shaolin just acted as though she were fascinated by something in one of the walls.

"_Uhm...that...that takes us into pretty scary territory...doesn't it?"_

Shaolin stopped at Hana's tone.

"Yeah, it..."

The ex-shinigami's dark mood dissipated from shock as she realized what her friend had just implied.

"She's been skewering Ichigo two or three times a day for the last..."

Her mind began to conjure the scene: Ichigo grabbed and violently dragged into some bushes or an alcove by a young woman in the gray jacket and skirt of a Karakura High School student. Cackling with glee, the girl drew out a sword and then with reckless abandon plunged it into the boy's chest.

And then she did it again...and again...and again...

"_What image did you come up with?"_

Hana words halted the horror movie in Shaolin's mind.

"Something out of a low-budget slasher flick."

"_I imagined her getting dressed up like some primitive shaman and having a pair of burly Polynesian man-servants tie him to a convenient 'altar' before doing the deed. With the requisite chanting in the background, of course."_

Shaolin took a deep breath at that, and then exhaled to calm herself.

"We're beginning to think like Inoue-san, aren't we?"

"_Now there is a scary thought. Shaolin...it may not be quite as bad as we think it is; we don't really know the girl or the situation."_

The assassin arched an eyebrow.

"You're the one who's been trashing this 'Kuchiki Rukia' all day, Hana. Why the change?"

"_Because you started having murderous thoughts about a Great Clan member, and because now we're thinking she's some kind of sadistic maniac. I know that once you have a mind to something or an impression of someone, it is pretty well set in concrete."_

Shaolin nodded at that, some of her anger cooling into indignation.

"And you don't want me doing something drastic or make an unnecessary enemy. Hana, you know me better than that."

"_No, I know you _like_ that. In any case, you can inform Ichigo about what is going on; maybe that will be more productive."_

The assassin thought about that for a moment.

"You're probably right, Hana. And if it is Ichigo wandering around out there, he 'knows' about me; he's more likely to listen to me."

"_Do you think he will try to contact you tonight?"_

Shaolin shook her head.

"No, knowing him he'll want to call it a night and think about it tomorrow, unless something happens. Anyway, we can worry about that tomorrow, too; go back to your martial arts...whatever it is, and I'll say good night to the girls."

"_Agreed."_

Shaolin took a moment to collect herself and then started towards the kitchen. As she did so, she put on a smile that she didn't feel but needed to show; she didn't want to worry Tatsuki and Orihime about Hollows, Soul Society, murderous shinigami high school students or anything else they couldn't even sense, much less deal with.

At least she could control _that_ part of her life.

* * *

><p>And as for the reviews I've gotten:<p>

Nexus the 13th: Sorry about that. Hopefully I've taken care of that and it won't happen again. (although if I haven't, you're free to speak your mind.)

_Ability King KK_: Thank you; Rukia is going to be getting a lot more bashing in the next few chapters. I personally like her but, as you'll see later, she's put herself into quite a mess.

_DarkScyther_: Some of the future flashbacks in the story will address the Vizards' attitude shift on Sui-Feng; to a degree it was just the passage of time and the realization that she really _was_ an exile, and not pretending.

_AnimeLoverno.1_: I'm kind of blown away with that review of yours. Thank you! Rest assured there will be a flashback later in the story showing what caused this rift between Yoruichi and Sui-Feng. As for whether their relationship will mend itself...both of them are going to be doing some soul searching later on, and hopefully that will do the trick.

_EVA-Saiyajin_: I'm glad you enjoy the story. I always try to put a lot of thought into the story and characters and what they do. Hopefully, you'll continue to like what you see.


	7. A Bee and the Nightmare

Disclaimer: Bleach and all the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is being written merely for the enjoyment of myself and whoever happens to like it.

Reviews would be most welcome, as would constructive criticism. In the case of the later, you can be brutally honest, but please don't be abusive. And flames will be ignored.

There have been more Favorite Story and Story Alert arrivals; a kind welcome to _valhala100_, _leviathon88_, _Fifth Horseman_, _marduk-report_, _grim reaper 15_, _xxxANKOxxx_, _HedonismBot_, _OYA7200_, _Tallisa of Swallow's Crest_, _Tasuxeda_, _Kurosu Kage_, _Dantrag-tc_, and _Madgod_.

That's a lot of new people for a first story, and I'm very grateful to you all for this informal praise.

I'm also learning quite a bit from just these first several chapters about what to do and not to do with any future stories I write (and I have plenty of ideas). I've already had a couple of people mentioning they were confused in places, and I'll try to work on that (I mention this because this chapter has some stuff in it that will be rather confusing; I intend to clear most of that up in the following two or three chapters). I had a lot of trouble with this chapter, which is the main reason it took so long, but I think I got it finally put together; I'm taking a couple of big chances with it plot-wise, so hopefully they don't wind up in the "You've got to be kidding me!" category.

On the other hand, I've had several very positive reviews lately, so I'm obviously doing something right as far as all of you are concerned.. Hopefully, I'll continue to deserve such praise.

Anyway, enough talk; here's the next chapter...

* * *

><p>This wasn't happening.<p>

Even as she fought for breath...

_What the hell is this?_

Tatsuki was staring wide-eyed at...

It was some sort of...snake monster, a snake monster with a skull mask for a face.

And arms...

And hands that were trying to choke the life from her, pressing down as though the roof had fallen on her.

_What the hell _is_ this? What the hell...?_

The words kept repeating themselves over and over.

It was supposed to be a fun night...

_Get off me you sonuva-!_

Tatsuki had sparred with her friend; welcomed Feng-sensei back; went to Orihime's home to spend the night...

Whatever this thing was, it _wanted_ Tatsuki; it was only slowly trying to kill her, savoring every minute of the experience, its eyes alight with feral victory mixed with hate.

She tried to bat at the arm with her own free right arm, but she might as well have been using a flyswatter; the monster didn't even acknowledge the action, much less react to it.

_Damn it, think Tatsuki, _think_! You're not going to die like this!_

Especially since she thought she might finally have figured out a way to get Orihime and Ichigo hooked up; over the tea they'd had earlier, she thought she might have even begun to finally get the girl past the worst of her hesitance...

Then Orihime's stuffed bear Enraku had come apart.

And after that...

Some kind of _thing_ came and went after the two of them like some insane heat shimmer with mass.

Tatsuki could feel the blood running now, feel the pain from the wound on her shoulder.

It was only after she'd received the wound that she could even see monster, and now she wished she couldn't; Tatsuki could practically feel the murderous intent in the thing's 'eyes'.

And she could feel her life beginning to slip away...

But the worst was the pressure...

_Please gods...don't let me die like this..._

She could feel the increasing pressure of the thing's hand as it continued to bore down on her, the weight daring her ribs to break and her heart and lungs to crush. Its body was pressing down on her as well, her legs and hips pinned down by whatever part of the 'tail' was supporting the thing's torso.

And it was squeezing her neck...

Tatsuki couldn't remember when her bones had felt this brittle...

_Don't let me die like this..._please_..._

Tatsuki felt so weak, and she hated that.

She hated that she could feel the thing's body heat seeping through her clothes, hated the air of dominance she could feel this male..._thing_ had over her...

And she hated that she couldn't do anything about it.

_All those years of training, and this is all I can do?_

Tatsuki knew she would die here.

And then Orihime would, too.

And then gods knew who else as this monster went on its way...

_Let me fight gods, _please_! Give me a chance to kick this thing's ass!_

And then she heard and saw something knock into the side of the monster and the pressure was gone from both her body and throat. Tatsuki didn't care what had happened, she just started gulping mouthfuls of air trying to get her body to work and her mind in order as quickly as she could.

The monster was off her...she was safe...for the moment.

She turned her head and saw the monster temporarily on its side, shock mixed with some of the unnatural rage in its face. And then Tatsuki saw what had knocked it over...

_Orihime...?_

The ginger-haired girl was quickly getting back up onto her feet and backing away from the monster, taking a moment to look in Tatsuki's direction to make sure she was all right. Tatsuki tried to smile but she was sure it came out wrong from the look her friend gave her in return.

And then Tatsuki noticed the chain...

The chain bolted to her friend's chest...that lay winding along the floor to...

Another Orihime laying in a heap in a corner of the room...

The fear and confusion returned with a vengeance.

_What the hell _is_ all this!_

She had no time to think on it; the monster had recovered from the blow that stunned it. It picked itself up and began looking at the two teenagers in the room, sizing up its targets.

Tatsuki knew she had to help, had to pick herself up and...

She couldn't do anything.

She didn't think her body was broken, other than a wounded shoulder. And there was nothing wrong with her thought processes that she could see.

Tatsuki just couldn't get her body to work for some reason, and that scared her.

Orihime would be alone against the monster, and even if she did have her black belt in karate...even if she did have the benefit of Feng-sensei's training...

The girl wouldn't stand a chance.

The beast in the room agreed with that opinion; it gave Tatsuki one look, dismissed her as nothing to worry about, and then turned its full attention to Orihime.

Even though her friend had a resolute look on her face as the creature prepared to attack, Tatsuki knew they were finished unless a miracle happened. There was no way any human could go up against something like..._that_.

And all Tatsuki could do was fight through the fear and silently pray for a miracle...

* * *

><p><em>It was raining hard outside the dojo, the gray color of the overcast sky seeming to bleed into everything the rain touched. It made Shaolin glad about the fact that she was indoors, where the colors were still crisp and bright.<em>

_The shinigami didn't hate rain, it was just that she'd had a long day training the students – the last of them had left for home with their parents not too long ago, and she was looking forward to a nice evening with some tea and a good book. And the rain would make for good sleeping weather..._

_Then Shaolin stopped; she could feel something...something was wrong..._

_She waved it away._

_Nothing had been happening in Karakura for something like a decade; no Hollows, no monsters, not even anything in the way of shinigami visitors._

_Shaolin knew she was just dream-_

"_Help! Somebody help me!"_

Masaki-san!

_Thoughts of tea or a relaxing evening went out the window as Shaolin heard her friend's voice over the rain outside. She and her son had just left Furin Hall not too long before, both with smiles on their faces; it was hard for the assassin to understand what..._

_No, she could feel it now. There was a Hollow here and Shaolin didn't need to be told who and what it was here for._

_She raced to her room, started tearing through the place. The cabinets...her bed...under her pillow..._

_Nothing._

_She made her way to the kitchen and tore through the cupboards and clutter there. Still nothing._

Where the hell are you, Hana?

_How could she have misplaced someone she almost considered a friend, someone she needed to-_

"_Somebody help me!"_

_Masaki sounded, if anything, even more desperate._

_There was no more time; Shaolin had to get there _now_, even if she was stuck in her gigai._

_Running through the hallways, she prepared to materialize Suzumebachi; the zanpaktou would be essential to making her more than an 'innocent bystander'-_

_Nothing happened._

_No blade appeared in her hand, and for a long moment Shaolin just looked at it like an idiot._

_She tried again...again...again..._

_It felt like she was trying to get a spent cigarette lighter to work._

_And still nothing._

Damn it, I don't _need_ this!

_If she couldn't make her own blade come, Shaolin had one other weapon she could use. She raced back to one of the closets and tore through the accumulated boxes and chests until she reached a small case in back. She had to fiddle with the latch for a moment, and then threw the lid open and started digging through the things inside, heedless of the mess she was making._

_Shaolin didn't care; she needed to find-_

YES!

_She grabbed Hana's reishi blade, the one Shaolin had stowed away years ago and then, leaping from the closet, the assassin flew threw the corridors of Furin Hall making for the outside world._

_Even as she came into the gray outside and the steady rain started drenching her, Shaolin's only thought was of Masaki and Ichigo. Now that she was focusing on it, Shaolin could tell this was a powerful Hollow; there was no way a pair of unarmed humans, even spiritually powerful ones, could face off against this thing._

"_Don't you touch my...! Ichigo...Ichigo...!"_

Hold on, Masaki-san, I'm coming!

_At least she was trying to come._

_The rain was making the concrete and asphalt surface of the streets slick; after ten seconds or so she swore to herself that she was running on a treadmill for all the progress she was making. And it didn't help that the rain was soaking through to her skin, making her saturated clothes weigh her down._

_But she had to keep going; a friend and her son were depending on Shaolin._

_And Isshin would never forgive her if..._

No, I _will_ save you two...just hold on!

_The conviction gave Shaolin fresh energy and she began to pick up speed, racing past the houses and green spaces towards where she'd heard the screams._

_Towards the river..._

_Even as she reached the sculpted banks of the river, Shaolin pulled out the blade and activated it; the harsh blue-white light that came forth from the hilt comforted her a little. Below her the normally placid waters of what was supposed to be a creek were now raging because of the heavy rainfall. Her feet squelched in the near-mud that the levee's side had become, and she took a moment to scan the scene._

_She didn't see a Hollow, but its stink was everywhere, slowly being washed away by the rain._

_But if it wasn't here..._

No...

_She started to shake her head as she saw the body further down the slope, not far from the river's present edge._

Please no...

_A young woman lay face down in the grass, her long brown hair a mess, a broken umbrella thrown to one side. And even from here Shaolin could see the red of blood all over the woman's back._

"_Masaki-san?"_

_There was no response._

_Shaolin almost leaped off the top of the bank and made her way down to the body, trying her best not to slip or tumble in the mud and rain-slick grass. Her heart came up further into her throat as she noticed a smaller body pinned underneath Masaki's._

Please gods...not him, too...

_Even as she hoped that her friend was still alive, Shaolin could tell the woman was at best critically injured; Masaki didn't move at all as the shinigami made it to the same level of the bank and then came up to her. Shaolin deactivated and stowed the reishi blade as best she could, and then knelt beside her friend. It barely registered in the assassin's mind that she was beginning to shiver from the cold rain._

"_Masaki-san...?_

_She reached out and lay a hand on Masaki's body; there was no response, and she could only feel the ebbing heat of a corpse._

_Shaolin shook what was left of her friend, just to be sure._

_Nothing._

_Something in Shaolin crumpled and she hung her head for a moment, her tears adding to the water on her face._

"_Masaki-chan, I'm sorry...I...I didn't mean it...I-"_

_But there was no point in continuing; the woman was dead...gone._

_Shaolin needed to see to the living._

_She took in a deep breath to steady herself, grabbed Masaki's body, and then rolled it onto its back so Ichigo would be uncovered. The sight of the woman's face made Shaolin feel a little better; Masaki had a look of grim determination, and there was no sign of the desecration the Hollow had done to her._

_But then Shaolin turned her attention to the boy and her heart stopped._

Oh gods no...

_Ichigo was dead too._

_The tearing and rending of flesh and the blood that had been on Masaki's back was reproduced on Ichigo's chest and neck. The nine-year old boy's face was contorted in horror; like his mother he could see ghosts, Shaolin knew, so he'd had the small consolation of knowing what had killed him. But..._

_She'd failed them._

_Just like she'd failed so many others over the years..._

_Shaolin didn't know what to do, so she sat there for a moment letting the rain continue to fall and soak her. She tried to think of it washing away the numbing pain she was feeling._

"_Ichigo...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."_

"_You're sorry?"_

_Shaolin started at the words; it couldn't be..._

_She turned a little to the side, and her eyes widened in horror at the look Masaki was giving her. The expression on the corpse's face had changed from a moment ago; now the woman Shaolin had always known for her sunny personality had a look of righteous outrage. Even though Masaki was obviously dead, she was slowly struggling into a sitting position, the wounds on her back seemingly forgotten._

_Shaolin just stared slack-jawed at her friend, and it took her a moment to pick herself up off the ground. A moment later, and both women were standing and facing each other next to the body of Ichigo._

"_Masaki-san, wha-"_

"_Don't change the subject, Feng Shaolin!"_

_The animated corpse pointed at her son's remains._

"_He saved you, remember? I thought you promised to protect him. Was that a lie?"_

_The assassin found herself shaking her head in disbelief._

"_No, wait...I tried to get here as fast-"_

_Masaki thrust a finger accusingly at Shaolin._

"_I'll bet you did. But you didn't quite make it, did you? Now you can have Isshin and the girls all to yourself. You always did think Ichigo was a problem; maybe you'll have a better time controlling Karin-"_

"_No, Masaki-san...it's not like that!"_

_Even as she said the words, Shaolin tried to back up and put a little distance between her and the accusations. But the ground wouldn't let her move; her feet had sunk into the mud of the bank and held her fast enough for her to lose her balance. Before she knew it, Shaolin was on her back as firmly as Masaki had been just a moment before._

_The accusing undead towered over her for a moment, and then shook her head sadly._

"_You're one of my best friends, Shaolin-san; a shinigami able to hold her own against a captain. How could you do this to me? How could you do this to my family, to..."_

_Then Masaki's face turned to something past Shaolin's head._

"_Isshin..."_

_Shaolin, the terror in her heart rising even further, tried to turn her head to see but found the mud holding her fast. With main strength, she heaved herself up just a little, enough to break its hold for a moment, and then flipped herself onto her chest. The grass had disappeared for some reason, all she could see was the raging river in hills of brown and maybe a stone here and there._

_And standing not very far from her was Isshin and his two daughters._

_How they had gotten here so fast didn't register, nor how they could be free of the wet and mud that was beginning to coat Shaolin. All that mattered were the looks of horror on their faces as they saw Masaki and Ichigo. Isshin in particular turned to look his old friend in the eyes._

"_Shaolin-san, how could you?"_

_The two girls looked like they were on the verge of tears_

"_Mom...?"_

"_What happened to you?"_

_This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening._

_The girls turned to Shaolin and suddenly their faces became masks of rage; Karin seemed particularly upset._

"_You loser! How could you do that to Mom, how could you let her die? I HATE you!"_

"_Girls, please, I-"_

_Yuzu shook her head._

"_Don't say anything, you...you... Just go away!"_

_And then she turned and ran off, Karin following after giving Shaolin one final dirty look. After only a moment they had disappeared in the now-darkening gloom of the rainy evening._

_Shaolin just wanted to get out of here, to get away from it all._

_But she couldn't get away; the mud was holding her too fast._

"_What a truly pathetic display of failure. My condolences, Isshin, Masaki."_

_At the new voice, Shaolin turned her head to see Ishida Ryuuken standing nearby, looking at her with disdain even as he remained utterly immaculate in his white suit and blue and silver tie._

"_What did you expect? She _is_ a failure."_

_There was Hirako Shinji, a snide and triumphant smile on his face._

"_A total reject."_

_Hiyori appeared, dressed in a red jumpsuit and baseball cap and shaking her head in sadness and disgust._

"_A source of shame to our clan."_

_Shaolin turned her head again and saw there was now a large group of men and women wearing the black garb of her old division, the Punishment Force..._

_Her clan. Her brothers and sisters, cousins and aunts and uncles._

_The people she'd cut ties to for-_

"_Yeah everybody, she's a real waste of space."_

_The words and the voice cut through Shaolin's heart like a knife. She struggled to peel herself from the muck the ground had become, struggled to confirm who was coming to join this procession of shame. Finally, she managed to get up onto her elbows and looked down-slope, where the voice had come from._

_Now there was no river; there was only a trench lined with lumber to keep the mud from burying anyone who might be inside. On the hillside, the buildings were in ruins, lit only in the now-dark sky by the occasional flash of...something in the distance._

_And laying face down in the mud were bodies; some in what was left of Quincy white, some in the uniforms of 20th Century soldiers, others in the peasant garb of people from Rukongai. There were even a few in the black robes of shinigami..._

_And walking up to her from there was the dark-skinned vision of nobility herself, clad in black and orange, her dark hair flowing like a waterfall in the rain._

"_Yoruichi-sama..."_

"_Oh, you remember me? How touching."_

_She was smiling, but there was something wrong with it. It had a sort of feral quality to it, this smile, and when she looked, Shaolin could see the glint of madness and excitement in the Shihouin heir's golden eyes._

_The younger shinigami tried to keep the fear out of her voice as she spoke._

"_Wh-what are you..."_

"_Doing here? Oh come on, you know I like to come by every now and again. And what do I find this time?"_

_She sighed and elegantly waved a hand at the gathering as she came up in front of Shaolin._

"_You screwing up again. I mean, that poor woman and her family... Really, Shao-chan, you couldn't even stop, much less kill, one stupid Hollow?"_

_Shaolin started to protest her innocence, but one of her clanswomen came forward to cut her off; built not unlike Shaolin, her short dark hair had a bit of the silver that flashed in her eyes from the now-intermittent light of the scene._

"_You had your chance, cousin. Let someone else have a turn, someone better than you."_

_Everyone was just glaring at her now: Masaki, Ryuuken, Isshin, Hiyori, her clan... All of them looking at the pathetic figure in the mud and all with a look that said they just wanted her to go away._

_She wanted to scream, but Yoruichi simply tut-tutted._

"_Now Shaolin, I think I speak for everyone here when I say I've had enough of your screwing up. I mean, I know Kisuke likes you and all...but I don't have much patience for the hired help. I can, after all, get that whenever I want to."_

_The woman got down on one knee and looked Shaolin in the eyes, golden orbs boring into the younger woman's soul._

"_You know, you like bathing in this stuff, don't you...?"_

_She pointed to the mud at their feet even as she brought her face up to Shaolin's._

"_I hear it's excellent for the complexion..."_

_The noblewoman grabbed Shaolin firmly by the top of her head, smiled the smile of the mad, and then drove the assassin's face into the mud._

_Shaolin struggled for what seemed like forever, trying just to breathe and not to get sucked down further into the muck, and then her head was raised again for another dunking. Now it was just her and Yoruichi-sama in an endless sea of mud; through a tear in the clouds, a watery-blue moon bathed the place in a sinister light._

"_Yoruichi-sama, _please_...!"_

_The noblewoman sneered at Shaolin._

"_Please what? You want me to spare you or show mercy? How dare you give _me_ orders, woman! A piece of trash like you has no business being near me, much less being my 'humble servant'."_

_A violent rage overtook Shaolin at the words._

_Hadn't she been loyal all these decades in the Living World? Hadn't she given up everything for this woman?_

_And for what?_

_Using all the strength she could muster, the ex-shinigami swiped at her former mistress' face._

"_Shut up you _bitch_!"_

_Her fingers found their mark, tearing through the dark skin and noble features..._

_And revealing under the tatters pieces of a bone-white face._

_Shaolin was paralyzed with fear, even as the fake Yoruichi closed her now-yellow eyes and shook her head._

"_No respect for your masters...either one of them."_

_Then the woman shrugged lightly, even as Shaolin struggled to get out of what was now a vise-like grip._

"_Oh well...see you later 'Little Bee'..."_

_Before Shaolin could do anything else, she was driven deeper into the mud, buried in it, engulfed in it. She tried to struggle out of the mire, but even as she did she could feel her body begin to become one with it. Bone softened, muscles and skin melted, her mind began to disperse, and after a moment she began to become one with the field._

_Become one with her other self..._

* * *

><p>No, she didn't want to do that, didn't want to surrender.<p>

Didn't want to lose herself to the darkness.

Shaolin wanted to fight, to _survive_.

She exploded out of the body of the morass, struggling against the material that was clinging to her, wrapping itself around her limbs and body, trying to tie her down.

She fought for air, trying to breathe through the muck she was in, trying to hold whatever she could in and use it for her struggles.

And then Shaolin realized that she was breathing air, not mud.

As soon as that revelation entered her mind, Shaolin began to feel fabric instead of earth on her skin; the moisture was from her own sweat, not rain. There were no strange lights, no thundering explosions in the distance; while it was dark, it was also quiet.

She was in her room at Furin Hall, in her bed...

The assassin spent a few moments trying to calm her nerves and control her breathing. She forced herself to remember her training for such things, all the decades her clan had spent forging her into a tool for the Shihouin Clan.

And after a while, Shaolin could feel her heartbeat slow...she could feel her breathing become more even...she could feel her nerves calm...

She wasn't sure how long it was before she opened her eyes again; probably just a few minutes, though sometimes she spent hours in such 'meditation'. But she was better now, and the ex-shinigami silently praised the teachings of the clan she'd abandoned so long ago.

Shaolin was still rattled, but she could think and act rationally now, and she could reflect on what had happened to her.

She'd had the dream again.

It first came to Shaolin a few nights after Masaki's death, when the ex-shinigami had finally been able to get something approximating sleep. It had been simple at first, just a replay of the memory of finding her friend's corpse in the rain. And then over the next several weeks it had grown, like some malign rumor spreading through the streets and taverns of Rukongai, adding and layering her fears and failures into it until...

Until that sea of mud had appeared.

She hoped Hiyori wasn't right about what it meant...

Isshin had nearly been destroyed saving her from that..._thing_ all those years ago; it killed her to think that he might have failed anyway.

The assassin quietly shook her head to clear the thoughts from her mind and wiped her face to remove the tears she knew would be there. Whether they had been shed during the dream or after she didn't care, she just wanted them gone.

The cellphone going off nearly made Shaolin jump through the ceiling.

After regaining her breath, she scrambled to the table, desperately clutching for the phone while letting its ringing guide her hands in the dark. They soon found it, fumbling it open and then putting it to her ear.

"_Finally... Where were you? I have been trying to reach you for the last fifteen minutes."_

"I...I was asleep..."

There was a pause as Hana absorbed that.

"_You were having a nightmare again, weren't you?"_

Shaolin found herself nodding in the dark.

"Yeah, but I'm...I'm all right."

"_You do not sound all right."_

The assassin frowned at the phone.

"That's because _someone_ rang me at...whatever time it is. Look, I'm fine now Hana; what did you want to talk to me about?"

There was another pause, one that didn't help Shaolin's nerves.

"_It is all over now, Shaolin, but there have been a pair of Hollow attacks in the general area."_

The ex-shinigami could feel herself tensing up, even as her heart sank at the news.

"Let me guess: one of the attacks was at Isshin-san's place, right?"

"_Yes, the first one. It only lasted several seconds; Ichigo drove it off."_

Shaolin sighed and buried her face in her free hand.

"Great, Isshin-san...'We don't need to train Ichigo to hide his reiatsu, everything'll be just fine...'"

Then something occurred to her; she turned her attention back to the phone.

"Hana, how do you that's Ichigo out there?"

"_It is the same reiatsu as the one we ran into this afternoon. And it just appeared out of nowhere when the Hollow attack at the Kurosakis' occurred... And before you ask, it is not Isshin's signature I am detecting; I would recognize that in a heartbeat."_

Shaolin nodded her head.

"So that means either it's Ichigo, or this Kuchiki Rukia is visiting him..."

"_A convenient visit, indeed."_

The ex-shinigami just sighed; she could swear she was beginning to get a headache.

"I don't even want to think of the other possibility right now; there's too much stuff going on..."

She got out of the bed and started heading for the closet; she had a feeling she'd be needed.

"Where was the second attack?"

Hana didn't answer for a moment, as though stunned by the abruptness of her friend's question.

"_Inoue Orihime's house..."_

The ex-shinigami stopped for a moment, letting the news sink in.

"_Shaolin...?"_

"I'm wondering which of the gods I pissed off to have this happen... All right, Hana, is anybody there...now, or..."

She could feel it...

It was like a gentle breeze at first, flowing past her and filling the room with a recognizable 'scent'.

It was the presence she'd felt that afternoon.

"Ichigo's coming straight here, isn't he?"

"_Yes, he is, and at a pretty good clip...for him, anyway..."_

Shaolin tried to keep her emotions in check.

"Which means he left the girls all alone, after a Hollow attack?"

"_That may not be a bad thing, Shaolin. He stopped off at his house first before coming here; he may just be coming by to ask advice, not help."_

It took a moment for Shaolin to answer. She could feel Ichigo's presence filling the entire area; the background energies of the people in this part of Karakura faded away as the boy drew nearer.

"Let's...see what he wants. In the meantime I'm getting myself ready."

By the time she was opening the closet doors, she could only feel herself and Ichigo in the immediate area. She shook her head and almost cursed Isshin, and then held it back; it was only partially his fault that he had a son who was so powerful and yet so untamed.

It always brought her at least a little on edge, she hated to say, because it made her blind.

Being near Ichigo, she couldn't sense Hollows...couldn't sense other people...couldn't sense anything.

It was like being in thick fog; anything could come up to her now and she wouldn't even know until-

The door to the room flew open, a tall figure panting in the doorway.

Running on pure instinct Shaolin's hand flew to her back, Suzumebachi's hilt already starting to materialize...

And then the figure, realizing what was going on, wildly held out its hands.

"Wait a minute, sensei! It's me! It's Ichigo!"

Shaolin was thankful for the noise; it made her realize what she was doing. She stopped trying to draw her zanpaktou and let it quietly re-merge with her gigai, all the while staring wide-eyed at her former student.

"Ichi- Wh-what the _hell_ are you doing here at this time of night?"

He recoiled from her words, what she assumed was a look of fear on his face matching his movements.

Good, he needed that; with everything going on, she needed to snap at..._something_.

Even if it was Ichigo.

It took a moment for the young man to collect himself.

"Listen...sensei, I'm sorry, but...please, I need some help with something..."

Now she was feeling bad, her earlier shock having disappeared and some shame creeping in with the worried tone his voice had.

Kurosaki Ichigo didn't beg; he was too much of a macho man for that, which meant the boy truly felt he needed help.

_Not surprising considering what he's probably gotten himself into right now..._

"Sensei...?

She didn't turn around, but simply went back to looking through her closet.

"What did you need my help on?"

It took a moment before he answered, enough time for her to grab a t-shirt to examine.

"I saw you this afternoon."

She nodded her acceptance, to both his statement and her choice of clothing.

"You killed those Hollows, didn't you?"

"_That pretty much settles whether he is the current shinigami for the area, doesn't it?"_

Shaolin nodded again to two different things at the same time.

"Yes, I did. How would you know about that? I didn't see you there."

He paused, and then sighed in what sounded like defeat.

"It's...complicated..."

The light switch clicked, and a moment later Shaolin could see she had a..._tie-dyed t-shirt...?_

"You see it's- Ahhhhhhhh!"

Maybe her night vision wasn't as good as she thought it was...this had to be one of Orihime's...

She turned at the strangling sound Ichigo was making and saw something that made her eyes widen.

Kurosaki Ichigo stood in the doorway, clad in a black shihakushou – the robes of a shinigami - with a massive zanpaktou strapped to his back by a leather band. He'd had a strong reiatsu as a human, but now as one of the death gods he filled the room with his power like a blazing sun.

It was depressing to Shaolin seeing him in that state.

But he was impressive...

Or would have been if he wasn't stiffly bowing to the point where his eyes were fixed firmly at the floor.

Shaolin arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"I-it's just...could you please put some clothes on?"

She just closed her eyes for a moment in disapproval as she realized what he was getting on about; she was currently wearing a black silk nightgown that was apparently too short and revealing for his delicate sensibilities.

"Gods..."

It only took Hana a moment to respond; if she'd been in the gigai, Shaolin knew the mod soul would have been roaring.

"_It...it must be fun...knowing that...you can cause that reaction at your age..."_

The assassin groaned inwardly, crossing her arms and glaring at him; he could be just as bad about this as Orihime sometimes.

"You barged into my bedroom in the middle of the night. What did you expect?"

The question brought the young man up short; he stood there like an idiot before trying to answer.

"Well, I-uhm..."

She sighed in frustration and turned back to the closet. She grabbed a different t-shirt and some pants, and then started changing.

"You know, Ichigo, if you ever want to have a family – and I really hope you do – you need to get used to things like that."

The young man's only response was to sputter incoherently. Shaolin just sighed in defeat at the display.

"Never mind. Let me just guess: you're here about the attack on Inoue-san's apartment?"

"How did you-?"

Shaolin finished dressing and then went for the equipment box on the closet floor.

"I have my sources; I'm in contact with one of them right now, in fact. Are Inoue-san and Tatsuki-chan all right?"

There was no answer.

The assassin grabbed the reishi blade and a small pouch with some equipment in it, secured them to her waist as best she could and then turned her attention to Ichigo.

He was still bowing.

"I'm decent now."

He stood erect, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Oh-uhm...yeah..."

"The girls, are they all right? I assume that's why you came here?"

Ichigo nodded, some shame mixed in with relief.

"Yeah, sensei, it's...they're in pretty bad shape, and...I don't know what to do..."

Shaolin didn't wait for him; she made her way across the room, past him, and on into the hallway to the front entrance.

"If it's that urgent you can tell me on the way. Let's get going before- Ahhh!"

Before she knew what was going on, Ichigo grabbed the ex-shinigami and hauled her into his arms.

"Ichigo, what are you doing?"

He shrugged and made sure she was secure before racing out the door.

"This'll be faster; you are worried about time, aren't you?"

"_Hoisted by her own..."_

Shaolin just shook her head and tried to hang on as best she could. A moment later, Ichigo began climbing into the air, as though on some invisible stairway, and then they started on their way to Orihime's.

She waited a minute to let Ichigo calm down a little and for her to get used to the sensation of being carried through the air by someone else; it was weird for her to even consider it, much less live it. But then again, it wasn't the first time she'd pretended to be human.

"Now, what happened Ichigo?"

He sighed as he tried to compose his thoughts.

"There was a Hollow...it attacked me and Ru..."

Shaolin didn't bother to look him in the eye.

"Tatsuki-chan already told me about your girlfriend."

The young man groaned; apparently he wasn't entirely unaware of what things looked like at school.

"She's not my-! Like I said...it's complicated..."

Shaolin nodded at that. The young man carrying her sounded unsure of himself on this and...perhaps even betrayed...

"_Wait a minute! Shaolin, I did not detect... Oh gods, she was wearing her gigai to the battle wasn't she?"_

Shaolin wasn't going to say anything at the moment, but Hana had a point. Rukia would have been constrained by the device, as well as being visible to any moron who walked down the street.

Why would she...?

It wasn't important; the assassin decided to focus on things that were.

"Is your family all right?"

He nodded.

"Yeah, Dad and the girls are all right; it was just after me."

They were silent for a moment.

"That's what you wanted to train me for, wasn't it? Because of the Hollows...?"

Shaolin looked at his face; he didn't seem to be upset, just curious.

"Yes...yes it was. Ichigo, you know how I used to tell you about the power you had within you?"

He nodded.

"Well, I'm sure you're aware now that I was being literal; you're going to have to face the fact that you're a Hollow magnet, because of all that power you have... It's just something you're going to have to live with."

The young man looked like he was thinking about it, and then he just nodded his head.

"I understand. Thanks for telling me, sensei."

Some part of Shaolin rose a little at the sight; he was taking it much better than she would have, she was sure.

Maybe the little boy was turning into a man under her nose.

"Anyway, what about Inoue-san's apartment? How did you know to go there?"

Ichigo snapped to and thought again.

"I cleaved off some of the Hollow's mask at my place and..."

He stopped and his face started looking a little haunted.

Shaolin patted him a little on the back to comfort him; it had been a nasty experience the first time she'd seen what Hollows really were. She couldn't imagine anyone still remotely human who wouldn't be disturbed.

"It was Sora, Inoue's older brother. Rukia said he'd probably go after family so... Sensei?"

At the sound of the name, Shaolin started feeling a wave of self-disgust crash through her and she turned her face out towards the Karakura skyline.

"_Inoue Sora? But I thought he was not anywhere near...'turning'..."_

The ex-shinigami ignored her friend's words; she could only try to keep from getting sucked into one of her dark moods.

"Sensei...?"

She shook herself somewhat back into the real world.

"It's all my fault, Ichigo... I had three years and I w...no, I _couldn't_ do anything to help him..."

"Well, you don't have a zanpaktou, so-"

"I can do konsou, Ichigo; I can send people to the afterlife if I want."

There was a pause.

"Then why didn't you?"

Shaolin turned again to Ichigo and saw him looking at her, though without anger. He had simply asked a question.

She gathered her thoughts and then just sighed.

"It would have brought down trouble like you wouldn't believe. And not from the Hollows..."

"Soul Society?"

She nodded.

"We can talk about it later, though. What kind of shape are Tatsuki-chan and Inoue-san in?"

He looked really troubled now, much like he had when he'd first barged into her bedroom.

"Tatsuki's pretty banged up, but she'll live...I think..."

Shaolin glared at him.

"You _think_?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know; I'm not a medic. Rukia gave her something she said would supposedly help heal her, but..."

He looked at Shaolin like she might bite his head off if he said anymore.

"And Inoue-san...?"

Now he looked _really_ nervous.

"She's...had her soul ripped out of her body..."

Shaolin had to clamp down on her emotions, but she let enough of them through to her face and voice to give Ichigo a clear message.

"And you left her there like that? Like you left Tatsuki-chan?"

The look of shame on his face deepened.

"I didn't have much choice, sensei; I didn't know what to do...and then I remembered you this afternoon and...it that or..."

Shaolin thought about that for a moment and then sighed; she didn't want to know what Plan B had been.

"Was her Chain of Fate intact?"

Some of the shame turned to confusion.

"Her what?"

"_For crying out loud, you would think if this Kuchiki woman was going to have him do her job, she would at least inform him of the basics..."_

After a moment, a light seemed to go off over his head as he understood what Shaolin was talking about.

"Oh, that chain that ran from..."

She nodded her head.

"Yes, that chain. Was. It. Intact?"

He nodded in return and a wave of relief flooded through the ex-shinigami. She went on to the next question.

"Was her physical body all right; it hasn't been torn up, mutilated...anything like that?"

He looked unsure and a little squeamish as he did it, but he shook his head.

"No...I didn't really check, but it looked like it made it through the fight without a scratch."

She continued holding him with her gaze for a moment, and then sighed and looked away.

It was the best answer she could hope for until she actually see things for herself.

"All right...maybe she can be saved; it doesn't sound like a complete screw-up."

"But you're not happy with me?"

She turned to his face again and caught his gaze.

"Should I be?"

He looked troubled for a moment, sighed...and then smiled a little.

"No, I guess you shouldn't...I really screwed up."

"Then why are you smiling?"

He thought for a moment.

"Because there's someone I can talk to about this, go for help if I need it...someone other than Rukia."

Shaolin arched an eyebrow.

"You know, Ichigo you keep using her first name with no honorifics... Is she an old friend you never told me about? Someone you met when you were a kid?"

He shook his head.

"No, I just met her not too long ago."

"No wonder Tatsuki-chan was worried..."

They passed another moment in silence

"Did you leave Kuchiki-san at the apartment as well?"

He shook his head.

"No. No, I...took her back home...told her to get some sleep...that I'd get help..."

Again, there was something in his voice and expression...

Upset...a little shaken...

Shaolin took a moment to try and concentrate on the 'other' part of Ichigo's reiatsu, the one she assumed was from this 'Kuchiki Rukia' person. She was curious about this 'new woman' in her former student's life.

It took a bit of effort – Ichigo's energies were so strong – but she finally managed to tease out some of the foreign reiatsu and sample them.

It was cold...but not frigid like ice. It felt more like snow; softer, more gentle...more subtle.

But as Shaolin could attest through experience, snow was plenty cold and dangerous in its own right.

And unfortunately it was just the kind of thing she would have expected from some member of the high nobility of Soul Society. It probably also meant the girl wasn't quite as big of a fop as Shaolin had thought...

The funny thing was...the reiatsu didn't really _feel_ like it came from a Kuchiki...

Shaolin internally shrugged; noble families adopted all the time, this girl might be just another example. Which of course meant the girl was all the more valuable to her new clan...

"Thanks for coming, sensei."

Ichigo's words cut through Shaolin's musings; she turned her attention back to him.

"Thank me when the girls are okay. And Ichigo...?"

He looked at her.

"Yeah?"

She assumed a serious expression.

"You're not my student anymore; you don't have to call me 'sensei' anymore."

He looked a little embarrassed and deflated.

"Oh...I..."

The ex-shinagami smiled a little.

"You can call me 'obasan', or just 'Shaolin' if you want."

He arched an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"Why not Shaolin-san?"

She took a moment before letting her smile turn a little impish.

"Because you're too rude for honorifics, Ichigo-_kun_..."

The target of her words looked suddenly scandalized and embarrassed.

"Sensei!"

* * *

><p>They traveled in silence for another couple of minutes before Orihime's apartment block came into view; even as she kept tight hold of Ichigo, Shaolin did a quick scan of the area.<p>

There wasn't any major damage to the neighborhood that Shaolin could see from this side, which was a good thing. Even an experienced warrior like herself tended to leave locations this dense torn up a bit. She would expect a newbie like Ichigo to half level the place.

So the fact that the houses and streets she could see from here were completely intact, even after a fight with a Hollow was a good sign of the boy's abilities.

Or his luck; Inoue Sora would have been a newborn Hollow, after all.

Ichigo made the final few 'steps' to the complex, and then vaulted over it and landed in the air across the street from it, standing in the cone of light spilling out from...

"Oh gods..."

The gaping hole that used to be the side of Orihime's apartment.

Some part of the ex-shinigami's mind took note of the battle damage elsewhere; the street pavement below her had been cracked, she thought one of the light poles had been bent, and there were pieces of wood and glass strewn below from the side of the building.

But she couldn't keep her eyes from the hole for long.

It was easily two meters to a side; Shaolin could see right into the apartment room as though it were some kind of giant diorama.

And everywhere she could sense the remains of Hollow; the place stank of it. It was even worse since she knew the Hollow in question before the change...could remember what his reiatsu was like before this horror.

The scene would have made her sick in the past; now, after a century in the Living World...

She guessed some part of her was getting a little jaded, despite her attempts to the contrary.

But not jaded enough to confirm for herself something else.

There was no sign of another shinigami's reiatsu.

Ichigo had remained silent the whole time, and when she looked back at him she could see the worry and shame in his face.

"Did anybody see your friend?"

It took a minute for him to register the question.

"Well...probably not; it's late..."

The assassin shook her head in disgust and started muttering.

"Idiot _was_ probably wearing it in broad daylight."

"_Or 'broad nite-lite', as the case may be..."_

Shaolin ignored her friend's quip and pointed to the ruined room.

"Take us in."

Ichigo nodded and after a few steps he allowed Shaolin to set her feet on the apartment floor. He remained silent as she took stock of the place.

It would have been worse if Orihime were the kind of person to own a lot of furniture or other assorted junk; as it was only some pillows and a couple of small foot tables had been been thrown about. There were some scars on the walls, some from claws, a couple that looked like they'd been made with acid. All around, mixing in with the feelings of Hollow was the residue of the memory replacement aerosol Shaolin was sure Ichigo and Rukia had used.

The place had the air of some disaster site or war photo; the remains of what had probably been a quiet evening between friends...

And on the floor lay Tatsuki and Orihime, where earlier events had left them.

Shaolin could see the blood on Tatsuki's shoulder and the tears in her outfit; the young woman's face was pale and set in an expression of pain. And Orihime was just...laying on the floor a distance away as was her soul a couple of meters beyond that, the Chain of Fate connecting the two of them lying limply on the floor.

There was no one crying like Shaolin had half expected...

No one to sympathize with or console...

Only silence.

Like six years ago, by the river in the rain.

Shaolin closed her eyes for a moment as the emotions began to well up in her.

She was too late.

Again.

"I'm sorry, obasan, I..."

Shaolin held up her hand.

"Just be quiet for a minute, Ichigo."

Ichigo just nodded and stood near the wall.

The ex-shinigami felt the familiar anger building in her at the situation, as well as an equal well of despair enter into her soul. Ichigo had tried his best, but this was not a sport for amateurs; there was another qualified shinigami...sort of...in the area, and Shaolin could only feel that it was ultimately that person's fault this had happened.

In her younger days, Shaolin would have cried, she would have screamed her rage and frustration to the heavens, she would have done any number of wild and immature things.

Instead, she just stood there for a minute and let the wells of rage and despair fill and then overflow, let the emotions wash through her being, tasted them and absorbed them. She added the scene to her internal catalog of memories like a picture in her album back home.

And now that she had 'absorbed' the scene, Feng Shaolin took a deep breath to steady herself and then shoved the worst of the emotions back where they had come from. They would be hopefully locked away until she could deal with them at a better time.

Or until they invaded her nightmares again.

She turned back to the young man that was with her.

"Ichigo, I'd like it if you would do something while I look at Tatsuki."

Ichigo shook himself out of what thoughts he had in his mind.

"What?"

She swept an arm to indicate the entire area.

"This apartment. Look at it, look at the bodies, the damage; I want you to burn all this in your memory like I just did."

Ichigo's whole form seemed to sag.

"I'm sorry, I..."

Shaolin held up a hand and softened her voice.

"I'm not yelling at you. I'm telling you this because you're probably going to be running into a lot of it fighting Hollows. You're going to see a lot of damage and you're going to see a lot of dead friends and innocent bystanders."

She pointed to Orihime and Tatsuki specifically.

"This is what's going to happen, sometimes even if you don't screw things up. You need to get used to it, live with it, or it's eventually going to destroy you."

Ichigo took a few moments to absorb that; he looked very unsettled with the idea at first, but then seemed to accept it and grimly nodded.

"All right, obasan..."

Shaolin went over to Tatsuki and knelt next to the teenager. The smell of the memory chikan was all over her, as was that of Inoue Sora; he'd probably assaulted her.

He'd been a kind man, the assassin knew, and this sort of behavior would have horrified him; it pained the ex-shinigami to think that Tatsuki, and maybe Orihime as well, had been introduced to the spirit world in this fashion.

"I'm sorry, Tatsuki-chan..."

But now it was time to begin healing; the mourning and battles could come later.

"_Uhm...Shaolin...?"_

"What, Hana?"

The ex-shinigami made sure to just mutter the words so Ichigo wouldn't hear.

"_Are you going to actually use kidou _in front of _Ichigo? I mean, should you not send him away or something?"_

Shaolin shook her head.

"If Ichigo is ignorant of the Chain of Fate, than he wouldn't know what I was using. I mean, remember what happened a few years ago?"

"_Oh...yes...that little mess back home you told me about? I guess if your cover could survive that, it can survive this..."_

* * *

><p><em>It had been a long day.<em>

_Even as she landed on the roof of Furin Hall, Shaolin couldn't stop shaking her head about the mess in Naruki, one of the cities next door to Karakura._

_She hadn't seen that many Hollows in...well, years. Enough that even the shinigami assigned to that place wasn't going to begrudge help._

_She'd still been careful, of course, and only picked off some of the outliers; Gotei 13 pride wouldn't allow for anything else._

_But the assassin absolutely could not allow the creatures to make their way into Karakura. She wasn't sure what had kept Hollows away from here, and she didn't much care. There were just too many high-reiatsu people in the area now for this to become anything other than a buffet table if the monsters ever did return._

_A case in point was here right now._

_She had felt Kurosaki Ichigo's presence as she neared her home, and now even her well-trained senses were half-blinded. She knew he was here, but had no idea where in the building he might be._

_Shaolin figured she'd just have to be careful as she made her way to the ground at a side entrance and went in. Hana wasn't back here yet from Naruki, and while she wasn't worried about the other students seeing her like this, if Ichigo-_

"_What are you doing, obasan?"_

_The assassin froze and then turned at the all too familiar sound. Something in her crumpled as she knew her existence was about to change then and there. Years of being careful and keeping her identity a secret were about to go up in smoke because..._

_Standing in the hallway nearby was the six year old Ichigo._

Oh, damn...I guess my secret's out...

_He didn't seem upset, just...curious, and he continued to look at her for an answer._

What the hell do I tell him, I mean...?

"_Uhm...you're here for this afternoon's class, aren't you?"_

_Ichigo nodded._

"_...Is your mother here, too?"_

_The boy shook his head._

"_No, she dropped me off like she usually does."_

"_I see..."_

Okay...how do I explain shinigami to a six year old boy in a way that won't get me banned for life from the Kurosakis'...?

"_Are you playing ninja or something?"_

_There was a note of disgust in his voice, as if he thought his 'aunt' was too old for games._

What...?

_Then she realized...the boy had never seen a shinigami before, and he'd never felt the reiatsu of one..._

_He wouldn't know what he was looking at unless someone explained in detail._

Maybe I can make this work...

_Shaolin smiled sheepishly at him._

"_Well...er...yeah, I guess you could say that..."_

_He looked at her funny, and then smiled and shook his head._

"_You know, you can be weird sometimes, obasan..."_

Is he actually going to buy that...?

_The boy turned and started heading down the hallway toward the training room._

"_Hey, Ichigo!"_

_The boy stopped and looked at her._

"_Give me a couple of minutes to get into something normal, and I'll be with you. I think you might be ready for that new set."_

_Now Ichigo was beaming; the smile melted away most of Shaolin's fears._

"_Oh, and about this get-up I'm wearing...?"_

"_Yeah?"_

_Shaolin put a hand behind her head and gave what she hoped was her most embarrassed smile._

"_Uh...could we keep this a secret between us? Just you and me?"_

_Ichigo thought about it for a moment._

"_Okay!"_

_And then he continued on his way down the hall, leaving a relieved and bemused Feng Shaolin shaking her head and thanking every god she knew._

That did not just work out, did it...?

* * *

><p>Shaolin smiled at the old memory as she worked the healing kidou on Tatsuki. It helped to lighten her mood, and after the earlier nightmare it was a welcome bit of balm on her soul.<p>

"_Do you think that since he has met another shinigami he has put two-and-two together?"_

The ex-shinigami thought about that for a moment and then sighed.

"If he has, he hasn't said anything. I'll just play the game until he calls me on it."

The object of Shaolin's memory and conversation was standing nearby, watching her glowing hand and Tatsuki's healing wound with fascination.

"Is she going to be all right?"

Shaolin waited another moment, until the wound had closed completely, and then pulled back to examine her handiwork.

"She ought to be fine now; maybe a little stiff in the shoulder for a few days, but that's all."

She sniffed the air.

"Well, that and getting high off these fumes..."

Ichigo smiled a little, but she could see he agreed with her about the air quality; he was trying not to wrinkle his nose at the smell of...

...something that was trying to be bubble gum.

The assassin supposed that an aerosol agent should have some kind of scent, though, and better a pleasant one; she tried to keep the thoughts of mustard gas out of her head.

But still..._bubble_ _gum_...?

"Orihime next?"

Shaolin shook her head at her former student's question.

"Not quite."

The healing kidou had closed the wound; now Shaolin needed to make sure to cover up more of the evidence. Carefully she took off the shirt Tatsuki was wearing and replaced it with one of Orihime's shirts, making a point of ignoring Ichigo's reaction.

"Uhm...what are you doing...?"

Shaolin looked over to find Ichigo trying to focus his attention anywhere other than Tatsuki's body.

"What do think will happen if Tatsuki-chan wakes up in a torn, bloody t-shirt without a matching wound?"

He thought a moment, and then nodded in understanding.

"Her memories would have been messed with for nothing."

Ugly words, but Shaolin liked 'messed' more than 'altered'; it was closer to the truth.

In any event, it pissed off Shaolin to no end to see her prize student wind up like sack of vegetables on the floor. It would have probably pissed Tatsuki off even worse; she still hated being seen as weak.

But that was one problem taken care of.

"Now for Orihime..."

Shaolin turned to the two ginger-haired girls laying on the floor in heaps. She could see the Chain of Fate between them was still intact, thank the gods, but the girl was still centimeters away from death. All it would take would be for the Chain to break, and Inoue Orihime would be off to Soul Society.

Or become a candidate for Hollowfication.

The ex-shinigami supposed things could have been worse; if it hadn't of been for Ichigo, the girls would have been entirely consumed, much as Masaki had been. For that Shaolin could be grateful.

She looked again at the object of her thoughts; the ex-shinigami couldn't help but be a little impressed by the sight of him. The last year had added a little more to his height; sharpened his features closer to a man's than a boy's; he was already physically growing into a fine example of one of the Shiba, his striking orange hair notwithstanding.

"You look good, Ichigo, even in that outfit."

Ichigo blushed a little.

"Uhm...thanks, obasan."

"Don't get used to it, though; I have no intention of letting you die before your time."

"Okay..."

The strangest look had come over him, that same uncomfortable expression when he'd been talking about Rukia – it set her on edge.

She dismissed the concern; one thing at a time. She pointed towards Orihime's spiritual body.

"Ichigo, pick her up and bring her next to her physical form, will you?"

The young man now looked even more uncomfortable, though for a different reason as he eyed Orihime.

"Do I...have to?"

Shaolin groaned inwardly.

"Ichigo, you carried me all the way from Furin Hall; you're saying you can't carry her a couple of meters?"

"Well, it's just..."

"_...you're just his obasan; Inoue-san is a _woman_."_

Shaolin sighed in disgust and headed for Orihime's soul. Looking at it up close, she didn't really feel angry about this whole thing – by now she was feeling more in control of the situation – but she could feel something in the pit of her stomach. As she came to the girl's soul-form and looked down on it, she could only feel one thing...

"One more thing I can lay at their feet..."

There was a pause as Hana absorbed the ex-shinigami's mutterings.

"_You mean the Gotei 13?"_

Shaolin bent down and carefully picked the still-sleeping soul-form up, nodding her head as she did so.

"It's just...'a couple of humans'. I know they're supposed to reap Inoue-san's soul if she dies but...well, it would just be minor loss, now wouldn't it?"

Hana paused, as though shaking her head.

"_It is just one incident, Shaolin..."_

"Which I see happening all the time...with no regrets..."

She ignored the strange look Ichigo gave her, concentrating instead on what she was doing.

"_Are you all right? You sound winded..."_

Shaolin was breathing heavily now, and it was something of a relief when she carefully set the soul next to the body.

"I guess Inoue-san is heavier than she looks."

"_So that is where all the food goes...an extra-dense spirit form..."_

Shaolin smiled a little as she grabbed the Chain and started stuffing it back into the physical body; it quickly disappeared and then 'melted' into its host.

"Be glad you're not here, Hana; I'd let Inoue-san have a turn with you for that."

"_I am female; I can talk about another woman's weight if I want to."_

Ichigo arched an eyebrow.

"Who are you talking to?"

The ex-shinigami picked up Orihime's soul and laid it on top of its physical twin. Letting the soul's 'weight' help her, Shaolin then carefully pushed it back into its material host.

"I have someone I work with over the phone; how do you think I knew about your problem before you invaded my bedroom?"

The young man had enough sense to look a little embarrassed, put he didn't push further.

"_He probably thinks I am some nerdy genius holed up in their room all day, surrounded by computer screens..."_

Shaolin smirked at that as she took the time to finish properly aligning Orihime's physical and spiritual bodies. The ex-shinigami was glad Ichigo's curiosity about most things was still muted; he'd still fully accept any explanation given to him that made sense, even if things otherwise looked fishy.

The flip-side, of course, being that he was probably going to be as much a magnet for con-men as Hollows. Kisuke would probably be able to double his yearly profits off the young man...

"_I know this is not a good time, but have you ever done this before?"_

"A couple of times..."

While she let Hana think on those words, the assassin began chanting a ritual she hadn't used in...well, she had been in the business of sending people _to_ the afterlife, not bringing them _back_.

The mod soul's words aside, Shaolin hoped she was doing this right...

After a couple of minutes Shaolin was finished, and she became relieved when she heard a small sigh escape Orihime's lips. The girl was going to be all right now...

Shaolin hoped.

Ichigo was hovering over her shoulder now, fascinated by what he had just witnessed.

"Is Inoue-san...?"

The ex-shinigami spent a few more seconds looking Orihime over, and then nodded her head.

"She seems to be all right, though I'll probably want to keep an eye on her for a few days to make sure."

Ichigo looked extremely relieved now and he bowed deeply.

"Thank you, obasan. Thank you..."

"You're welcome, Ichigo. Now, if you would help me with one more thing?"

Shaolin proceed to gingerly pick Orihime up again, and waved her head to Tatsuki.

"Take her into the bedroom."

Ichigo had a strange look on his face, but after a little hesitation he did what he was told. Apparently he was prickly on the subject of doing something with girls other than saving them.

"What are we doing?"

They quietly carried the girls to the bedroom; Shaolin set Orihime down on one side of the bed, while Ichigo set Tatsuki on the other.

"We're doing the same thing I did with the t-shirt. Covering this stuff up is more involved than gassing peoples' memories away, Ichigo."

"But Rukia-"

"Was being extremely sloppy. The memory replacer will make the brain come up with whatever sounds good considering the situation."

She backed off a little from the bed and took one more look at the girls to make sure they were all right.

"If we leave them in the other room, with what looks like...what would you say?"

Ichigo looked at the destroyed wall and thought for a moment.

"A gas explosion...?"

Shaolin nodded.

"That's a good idea. Anyway, if they woke up unharmed in a room like that, well..."

Understanding came over the young man.

"They'd come up with some pretty wild stuff, wouldn't they?"

"Yes, they would. It isn't much effort to help preserve their dignity, and it helps with the cover-up."

They headed back into the other room and she took one final look around.

"Well, there's not much else we can do...I'm surprised no one's come here yet..."

"_I do not like it either..."_

Ichigo shrugged.

"I guess we got lucky."

"Well, let's not press that luck; let's get out of here."

Ichigo nodded his understanding, picked her up again, and soon they were in the air headed back to Furin Hall.

It was a couple of minutes before Ichigo spoke up again.

"Can you teach me that stuff, the things you did back there?"

Shaolin thought about her reply.

"Maybe... We'll see later. But for now, after you drop me off at home, you go back to your place, get in your body, and get some rest. Or is this a full-time job?"

Ichigo looked uncomfortable again.

"Actually...I _really_ need to talk to you about that..."

"_But you don't _want_ to..."_

Shaolin could only silently agree with the mod soul.

"Ichigo, is there something going on I should know about?"

The young man looked for a moment like he was going to try and evade again, and then he sighed and shook his head unhappily.

"It can wait, obasan, at least for tonight..."

"Then how about I meet you tomorrow at school...say lunch period...and we can talk about it. And don't worry: I'll try not to drag you away by your ears in front of your friends."

Ichigo looked mildly horrified at the prospect for a moment; no doubt the image vividly appeared in his mind. Then he collected himself and his nervousness abated just a little bit.

"All right, that'd be good."

"And you can bring Kuchiki-san with you; I'd like to have a word with her."

He nodded firmly, and there was a sort of...not mad, but determined look in his eye.

"Oh, you bet I will."

"_Okay, I want to be there when you three get together; there is _definitely_ something weird going on here."_

Once again, Shaolin could only silently agree with her friend.

Did Ichigo like the girl or not?

They spent another minute in silence. Shaolin took the time to look out over the nighttime skyline of Karakura, looking at all the bright lights on the ground drowning out the ones in the sky.

This world had changed so much over the past century...probably unlike Soul Society, which never changed...

She wondered if she'd ever be able to adjust if she went back.

She wondered if she'd ever want to go back, even if she lost everything here...

"Sen...Obasan?"

Shaolin had to take a moment to bring herself back to reality.

"Oh, sorry Ichigo...I was just daydreaming a little."

"_I wonder why? After all, you just finished a trip half-way around the world, followed by the discovery that your home is no longer safe, and top that off with a nightmare-plagued 'sleep' and..."_

She nodded imperceptibly at her friend's comment; it would be a couple of days, probably, before she was fully in tune with this new reality she was finding herself in. Until then, she would just have to wing it...

"It's kind of weird, traveling like this. But it brings back some memories. Good ones."

The ex-shinigami looked at Ichigo and saw him smiling a little in remembrance.

"Yeah... I kind of remember when you used to hold me like this, back when I was a kid. Now I'm grown and carrying you around."

Shaolin returned the smile.

"Actually, the memories I was thinking of were a little older."

Her expression turned wistful.

"Your father carried me like this a couple of times. It was very romantic..."

She teasingly tightened her grip and pressed herself closer to him. Ichigo looked slightly horrified.

"Obasan!"

She could feel his grip loosen and his footing become less steady, and she gave him a mild glare.

"Ichigo, eyes on the 'road', and don't even think about dropping me."

The young man went from flustered to outraged.

"Dropping you? You're the one who distracted me!"

The two of them shared a glare before he regained his footing and continued on. Shaolin could almost feel Hana laughing.

"_Oh, I would love to be the princess of _that_ shining knight..."_

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

Thanks to everyone who gave a response to my question about the use of Japanese in this story; the input is much appreciated. I'm going to be keeping the use of honorifics in dialogue, both internal and external, but I'll stop using it in the narrative (with the exceptions of 'Yoruichi-sama' and 'Feng-sensei' since those are hard-wired into the respective characters' brains). One exception will be when a character is saying something like 'Mom' or 'Dad'; the reason is that it would be entirely a foreign word replacing a commonplace English equivalent, rather than something tacked on the end of a name.

As for other Japanese words, I'm going to use the same rule I apply to English: if I have to look it up in a dictionary, it isn't going to be used.

Now to answer the latest reviews; I want to thank everyone who sent them in, I really enjoyed reading them:

_EVA-Saiyajin_: Thanks. Most of the younger characters are going to be a little OOC, due to Shaolin's influence (she's been living in Karakura for the last couple of decades by this point, so she's something of a fixture in the community); some changes are going to be more subtle than others, though. As for Yoruichi, I don't think I've mentioned what her relationship with Shaolin is in the present, and she will have _her_ side of the story to tell the kids...

_Ability King KK_: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you liked the concept of a Masaki/Shaolin rivalry, as I'll be exploring it a bit more later in the story (yes, we will actually get to see Masaki in person in a flashback or two); that and a couple of other things I've raised will hopefully explain her attitude towards Ichigo.

_Nexus the 13__th_: Thank you. Be aware, too, that Shaolin coming to the Living World didn't just affect Karakura; her absence from Soul Society during that century affected some changes as well. One or two of which will be affecting Ichigo and his friends.

_Fifth Horseman_: Thank you for the wonderful review; I really appreciate the input from you and everyone else. I'm happy you thought well of the characterization of Sui-Feng – one of my pet peeves in fanfic is people being out of character without reason (an AU, of course, is an exception). And I'm glad you liked the flashbacks, as there are going to be more of them from various times in Shaolin's life (I'm going to try not to go back and forth too much in time).

_HedonismBot_: I'm glad you like it enough to review this early; it's going to be a while before it's finished (and I do plan to finish this story) and hopefully it will continue to entertain. And I'm glad you liked the way I handled the characters; Orihime's going to be a bit...eccentric, but competent.

_Tallisa of Swallow's Crest_: Thank you for the great review. I may have laid the antagonism against Rukia a little thick, but this is my first fanfic so I'm learning about this kind of stuff as I go. They will have a bit more reason to dislike her as they go, though. And I'm glad you liked Hana; my reasoning was that if Sui-Feng stayed on Earth she would have been given a gigai, and later on she almost certainly would have been given a mod soul for it as she doesn't strike me as the type to stay in one place for very long or stay out of trouble.

_Dantrag-tc_: Thank you for the praise, it's well appreciated. As you can see, Ichigo is going to be playing a much bigger part in the story; one reason I wanted to use Sui-Feng and Tatsuki was for a different viewpoint on this kind of AU (most AU's of this nature have Ichigo and/or his band as the viewpoint characters). As for Ichigo, he's going to be a major character of course; after all, he's the center of the hurricane for a lot of what's happening...


	8. A Bee at School

Disclaimer: Bleach and all the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is being written merely for the enjoyment of myself and whoever happens to like it.

Reviews would be most welcome, as would constructive criticism. In the case of the later, you can be brutally honest, but please don't be abusive. And flames will be ignored.

There have been more Favorite Story and Story Alert arrivals; welcome aboard _shooped_, _Slayer Anderson_, _Orchamus_, _Addie Card_, _Flower in the River_, _Anon e Mouse Jr._, _Latios_, _ZiPeppe_,_ XKuroSoraX_, _WeirdRaptor_, and _0o TheLadyLuna o0_.

This story has also made its way to its first community – Crystal Shards – and I'd like to thank the administrator, _Christopher Robin R2_, for that.

I'd like to take the time right now to thank _Nexus the 13__th_ for pointing out a logic error concerning Rukia in my last chapter, which I've corrected. I will try my best not to let it happen again (though I can't make any promises). And it does make me want to ask if you people think I might need a beta reader for this work; seeing as how no one has said anything like that, I'm currently assuming I don't need one, but it never hurts to ask.

And I also want to apologize to all of you for how long it's taken me to get this chapter out; I know some of you are used to longer waits than this, but I'm sure I can do better than what I've been doing lately. I'm going to see what I can do to speed up the flow of chapters (though I again make no promises).

Anyway, here's the next chapter, I hope you all like it (and I hope it doesn't ramble on too much; it's a long one)...

* * *

><p>"<em>All right class, let's go over the forms again."<em>

_Feng-sensei's voice made two students immediately get up off the mat and proceed to face each other. Tatsuki watched as they bowed, and then started to spar; they were advanced students, acting as a sort of example for the rest of the class._

_While the two of them practiced, Tatsuki looked over the couple dozen other students lined against the walls, Ichigo and Orihime included, and smiled a little. It made her feel good that the place had filled up again; it meant people trusted sensei, that the last traces of the mess over Ichigo's mother were passing away._

_Tatsuki looked over to where sensei was presiding over the match, a look of stern examination on her face. The last scars seemed to have faded from her exterior as well, and now she was only interested in her students' training; she was focused on the present instead of the past, and that was good._

_Sensei could get into some horrible depressions when she wanted to._

_As she continued to watch the match, Tatsuki thought about her time on the mat, some of it with Feng-sensei herself. She was the best student in class these days, and would have probably wiped the floor with anyone else; it was probably why she was sitting to one side instead of actually participating right now._

_Then she saw Ichigo rolling his eyes at the scene._

_Tatsuki didn't say anything – the disruption would have been disrespectful in sensei's dojo – but the sight infuriated some part of her._

_He was another of the advanced students, and maybe she'd admit that he was approaching her level; he might actually beat her one of these days. But he could be more humble about it, be more respectful of the other people around him who weren't as good._

_Just because he'd won a few fights at school...and with sensei's training, no less..._

_The two students on the mat finished their 'match', bowed, and then went back to their places. Feng-sensei nodded in approval and then turned to the class._

"_That was good. Kurosaki-san, it's your turn."_

_Ichigo just sat there and looked like he was thinking about it, like he might refuse his sensei's request._

_Tatsuki could feel her blood getting up even more for a moment; she closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths._

_This had been happening more and more over the last couple of years: Ichigo had been getting more and more rebellious, and had been retreating into his own world. One that unfortunately seemed to include him being a jerk to everyone around him...including his 'obasan'..._

_Sensei's nature hadn't helped either; Tatsuki knew from experience the woman could be a little...'controlling' when she wasn't careful, and for a middle school boy starting to feel his hormones, that was just anathema._

_It made Tatsuki glad she was a girl._

_After about half a minute, Ichigo nodded his head; he slowly got up and then started for the middle of the room, taking his time and somehow slouching and swaggering at the same time. He ignored the hot stares being leveled at him, including the one sensei was using; in fact, he seemed to be making a point of thumbing his nose at the older woman._

_Tatsuki would have wanted to go hit the idiot on the head..._hard. _How dare he do something like this, in public, embarrassing someone who had never been anything other than nice to him outside the dojo?_

_But then again this was the result of him being sent to Mashiba; that place was pretty rough, from what Tatsuki had heard. She and Uryuu had gone to different middle schools, and sensei was an adult, so none of them could help protect 'Mr. Sunshine' from the bullies there. And Ichigo's father looked like the kind of person who would tell his son to 'man up' about his problems._

_And now the result of all that was standing in the middle of the room – power, with only enough discipline to make him really dangerous. A violation of what sensei taught and believed in._

_Deep down Tatsuki knew he wasn't _that_ bad, at least not yet, but he was sure putting on a convincing act right now. Just standing there in defiance, closed off from the world and the people in it, daring them to punch through his soul's armor plating._

_Fortunately, Feng-sensei had the ability to do just that; the woman continued to give the boy a stern glare, and after a few moments Ichigo started to look at least a little ashamed. The sight made the class breath easier, and it made Tatsuki wonder once again how the woman had done it._

_But Tatsuki knew even sensei's hold on the boy was starting to slip the last year or so. It made classes with him in attendance...'fun'; the rest of the students weren't upset that his attendance record was getting worse._

_When she really thought about it she probably just felt sorry for the guy as opposed to really angry._

_Which was about the same thing in Arisawa Tatsuki's book..._

_Another moment, and Feng-sensei felt she was in control of the situation with Ichigo; the older woman turned her attention back to the class._

_Tatsuki hoped she'd be picked as that brat's sparring partner. Maybe she could recover some of sensei's honor and beat some sense into Ichigo...literally._

"_Inoue-san, join him on the mat."_

Orihime?

_Even as Tatsuki recovered from the mild shock, the girl smartly came up and stood before her opponent. She made an excellent contrast with her opponent, with her eager smile and stance, and Tatsuki could feel the mood in the room brighten._

_The girl had that effect on people...just the way Ichigo had back when he'd first come to the dojo. And she was certainly the most popular person here, due to her appearance as much as her bubbly personality._

_Orihime had also been changed a little by being here; Tatsuki noted happily that the girl's ginger hair was longer, thanks to being among friends as much her personal protection at school. And even in the fairly loose clothes it was obvious to everyone, especially the male students, that Orihime's body was filling out quite a bit._

_The guys here were too proper to make advances on her, though._

_Well, maybe with the exception of the guy Orihime was currently facing..._

_And that was what was worrying Tatsuki as the two bowed and took their stances on the mat; her friend was still too soft, too nice, when dealing with people who meant her harm._

_Like the guy she was currently facing..._

_Who she still had trouble meeting in the eyes; even now, there was a small half-smile on her face and a look in her downcast eyes..._

_There was no such look in her opponent's; Ichigo's face was hard, the veteran of who-cared how many schoolyard fights. He was not going to be kidding around here..._

_Looking at the two of them, Tatsuki made a silent promise: friend that he was, if Ichigo made Orihime cry in front of everyone, she'd be having a long 'talk' with him on the river embankment..._

"_Begin!"_

_Ichigo waited for a moment; when Orihime didn't do anything other than smile at him, he threw a punch at her. The shy girl quickly blocked it and followed with a strike of her own, the smile on her face unchanged._

_He blocked and then followed with a roundhouse kick; Orihime dodged and then fell back._

_Tatsuki relaxed a little, and even felt a small amount of pride as she watched; those after-hours sessions with Orihime were paying off. It made Tatsuki feel even better to catch the approving glance Feng-sensei threw her way._

_Orihime had only been here a few months, but she was already getting good._

_Good enough, apparently, to make Ichigo decide to try something more aggressive._

_He closed the distance between himself and Orihime, feinted, and then threw a punch at her head. She quickly moved her head out of the way and grabbed his arm. Then she swept her leg around, catching his own and knocking him off balance._

_But then she seemed to lose concentration, because she forgot to get away from him as he started to fall. She got caught up in his legs and started to go down with him..._

_A moment later Ichigo was flat on his back on the mat, Orihime on top of him; soon the two were struggling together in a mass of flailing limbs, trying to separate from each other._

"_Get off of me!"_

"_I-I'm trying, I'm-"_

_As Tatsuki watched the 'show', she could see the amusement in the rest of the class, and she could almost feel sensei having the same attitude. She kept her own expression neutral, and it help that she felt it served Ichigo right for his earlier attitude._

_After another half-minute or so of struggle, Ichigo managed to grab hold of Orihime's torso and then almost threw her back; she lost her balance again and fell on her backside. The two of them spent a moment catching their breath and trying to get over what had happened._

_Then it seemed to dawn on Ichigo, and apparently on Orihime as well, where he'd grabbed her; she stopped her hands as they were going to her chest, while Ichigo just stared a little at his own hands._

_Tatsuki saw both her friends' faces go the same shade of red at the same time; it didn't help that some of the class was trying hard not to laugh. Tatsuki among them..._

_Orihime recovered her wits, and then got up and bowed so low she almost fell on top of Ichigo again._

"_I'm really, really sorry, Kurosaki-san. I mean, I-"_

"_Just get away from me."_

_The boy's words immediately killed the amused atmosphere of the room, though Orihime's face and posture didn't seem to be affected by them beyond a little disappointment. Tatsuki and the rest of class watched the girl slowly go back to her place in class, her shoulders a little slumped. For his part, Ichigo didn't look terribly concerned with his 'partner's' feelings as he picked himself up and went back to his own place._

_Tatsuki couldn't help but shake her head at the sight._

_One of the scars from Kurosaki Masaki's death that would never heal..._

_It made Tatsuki so mad and frustrated with Ichigo; Uryuu had lost someone he cared about, and right before his own eyes too, and though affected by it he'd gotten on with his life for the most part._

_Why couldn't Ichigo?_

_As soon as the boy had sat down, Tatsuki glanced again at Orihime; she was sitting straight, but she had her head bowed and she was obviously trying to restrain her arms from wrapping themselves around her body._

_The sight made Tatsuki want to beat Ichigo into the floor right then and there. How could he do that to Orihime? And in front of..._

_And then she noticed the small smile on Orihime's face._

_What the _hell_ was she smiling for...?_

_And then as she thought about the 'feel' coming off her friend, it hit Tatsuki like a fist in the face._

_Orihime liked what had happened...she..._

_She liked Ichigo like _that_?_

Ichigo_?_

_Tatsuki turned her attention to Ichigo, who was ignoring the fresh round of heat being directed from sensei and the rest of the class. He knew his 'obasan' especially didn't care for things like what he'd just done, but the boy obviously didn't care._

_The words had already been said and the actions taken; he probably figured he'd deal with the consequences when they came._

_He always did._

_But he did cast a glance in Orihime's direction, and there was just the slightest hint of regret and shame in his face. Tatsuki looked back to Orihime, and noticed the girl was looking at Ichigo, though with a smile rather than some darker expression._

_It just made Tatsuki shake her head in disbelief, and made her forget about violence against Ichigo._

_Of all the ridiculous..._

_But it also made her think._

* * *

><p>Daydreaming.<p>

She couldn't believe she was daydreaming in the middle of class; that was always more Orihime's style, when she even did something like that.

But Tatsuki couldn't help it...there was just something...

Her mind was distracted on some level, and it seemed to want to just page through memories about other times in her life.

Memories that kept hauling her back towards Ichigo and Orihime...both of whom were with her in the class where she should have been trying to pay attention.

It was a simple room with chalkboards around it, and a row of windows on one side, open now so that the morning air could circulate along with the sunlight streaming in.

Everyone was doing what they normally did; Ms. Ochi was teaching her lessons, regardless of whether anyone was actually paying attention. She could see several of the other girls off in their own part of the sea of chairs. Keigo and Mizuiro were together as usual off to one side, with Ichigo's other friend Chad towering over them both.

Ishida Uryuu was off in one corner of the room, unreadable neutrality on his face as usual, though from time to time he'd glance at Ichigo and Rukia and...Orihime and herself...? And in the latter case it seemed to be with concern; it made Tatsuki snort in amusement that he'd have that kind of feeling now.

Orihime was sitting near the windows, a small smile plastered on her face, looking for all the world like she might be daydreaming herself. But there was something off; she'd been periodically glancing to the middle of the room, her smile slightly disappearing whenever she did so.

And Tatsuki could see why, with Orihime's crush sitting next to another girl.

The idea of getting Orihime and Ichigo together had just started as a lark, especially when Tatsuki had figured out her newer friend actually _liked_ Ichigo. As time went on, and Orihime's fondness for the man grew with her curves, the idea became more and more entrenched within Tatsuki's mind.

Most of the other girls were turned off by him, and he didn't seem interested in anything but beating up bullies, so...what the hell.

The fact that he occasionally paid attention to Orihime helped convince Tatsuki that she wasn't just wasting her time. Even now, a mixed look of shame, concern and relief was barely noticeable on the frowning expression he always wore, but it was there. And it was there on the one or two times during class he'd looked at Tatsuki, which was weird, but nice.

She'd never openly admit it, but she missed the person he had been before his mother died...

And now some nobody they'd never heard of was pushing her way into Ichigo's life, and their own. When Tatsuki thought about it, she really wasn't worried about the man being with someone else; Orihime didn't seem to care about that, so Tatsuki decided she wouldn't either.

But maybe...maybe it was that Rukia had found some way to penetrate Ichigo's shell, like Feng-sensei had. He talked to her, hung around her, treated her like a human being instead of an NPC in one of Keigo's role-playing games.

Maybe it was just simple jealousy.

But there was also something going on between those two, and now that she had begun to hit on it the day before, it wouldn't leave Tatsuki's mind.

And what she'd heard this morning, amusing as it might have been, hadn't helped...

"_Is it just me, or does Kurosaki-kun look super-scowly today...?"_

_Tatsuki took a moment to look in the direction Orihime was motioning in. Ichigo was walking towards school dressed in the gray blazer and pants of Karakura High with Rukia pretty much right next to him._

_Just as...well, the _new_ usual._

_But he was frowning a bit more than normal. Most people wouldn't have noticed much difference; it had taken Tatsuki more than a few arguments and a lot of effort over the last few years before she'd figured out how to read that stupid 'look' he was promoting._

_Tatsuki took another moment and then shook her head._

"_Nah, he's all right. In fact, I think he's just...well, thinking."_

_Orihime arched an eyebrow._

"_About what?"_

_Tatsuki thought that was a very good question. It didn't help that Rukia had a smile on her face that had a slightly superior look on it; Tatsuki felt it was just a facade, though._

_For all the world, they looked like they'd had a _very_ good night just now. But there was just something that just didn't feel right about that idea..._

_Orihime had meanwhile come up with her own conclusions._

"_Maybe they were talking about what happened yesterday with those bikers."_

_Innocent as that was, that made sense to Tatsuki too, though something told her Rukia was the kind of person to rip Ichigo a new one over the bikers._

_Which would probably get him tearing Rukia down in turn._

_A little back and forth like that, and she could see the two...she had to consider the possibility they were lovers...would be much angrier than they were right now._

_Whatever was going on, Tatsuki felt like she and Orihime needed to hear more._

"_Let's go follow them and see if anything happens."_

"_You mean like...tailing them?"_

_Orihime didn't look so sure about the idea, and it caused Tatsuki to sigh at her friend._

"_It's not 'tailing'...we just happen to be going in the same direction as some good friends, and we're a ways behind them, that's all."_

_The ginger-haired student still didn't look entirely convinced of the idea, but then gave an 'Oh well!' shrug and fell in line._

_Tatsuki focused her attention on Ichigo and Rukia and she accelerated her pace, assuming Orihime was following behind._

_Soon she was close enough to see that they were talking about something...but what, she couldn't tell from so far away._

_She'd seen Feng-sensei follow people before and knew some of the 'rules' by heart: don't try to _really_ hide, don't draw attention to yourself, don't focus your attention on your target but do keep them in sight-_

"_Here, put these on."_

_Something was thrust into Tatsuki's hands, causing her mind to come back to reality. She looked down to see a pair of bright red headphones with a wire leading off to..._

_She could feel her jaw open a little at the sight of the hand-held parabolic listening device in Orihime's hands, a second set of headphones already gracing her ears._

"_What are you...?"_

_Orihime put a finger to her mouth to silence Tatsuki, and then just gave a knowing wink._

_Tatsuki looked at the ginger-haired girl for a moment like she was insane. Then Tatsuki sighed and put the headphones on. Orihime squeezed the trigger on the device, and after a moment..._

"_So...you never told me who you went to see last night..."_

"_No, I guess I didn't..."_

_Wait...Ichigo wasn't..._

_She stared at Orihime, and saw the ginger-haired girl staring back at her with the same expression. They turned back and saw that Rukia was trying to keep a calm face, even as her attitude and voice indicated she was worried._

"_Ichigo...I need to know who you saw; it's important."_

Oh ho...maybe it _is_ what I thought...

_The idea that she'd been upstaged by a third girl didn't seem to be sitting well with the new kid. Or at least she wasn't handling it as well as Orihime was with Rukia's 'arrival'._

_Ichigo just continued to look at the sky, only the slightest smile on his lips._

"_Yeah, I suppose it is..."_

_Tatsuki had to admit, it was fun looking at the way Rukia's body showed how she was trying to contain her frustration. And then she lost it; Rukia turned to her companion, an outraged look on her face._

"_Ichigo!"_

_Ichigo turned to Rukia to answer, and then he got a look in his eyes that seemed to say-_

_Tatsuki and Orihime quickly hid in an alleyway they were passing by; Tatsuki pressed herself against one building's brick wall, while Orihime simply moved the listening device around aimlessly. Tatsuki thought she could hear some cats fighting in the distance._

_An apt metaphor for what Ichigo was going through._

_After a couple of moments, Tatsuki looked around into the street to see if Ichigo was still looking behind him. He wasn't, and so the brunette signaled to her partner to come on out._

_Another couple of moments, and they were back to...following Ichigo and Rukia. Tatsuki could hear the young man sigh and saw him shake his head._

"_All right, don't get your panties in a knot. I went to see my obasan."_

_The word made both girls stop and exchange surprised looks._

_Ichigo had met with sensei?_

_Maybe this whole thing might be resolved faster than Tatsuki had thought..._

_Rukia, for her part turned a look on Ichigo that was equal parts disbelief and amusement._

"_Your...your _obasan_?"_

_The way Rukia said the words shocked and infuriated Tatsuki; how dare this...nobody talk about Feng-sensei like that?_

"_Oh, you've got to be kidding me..."_

_First this bimbo had barged into Ichigo's life, then she was dragging him off to who knew where, and now she was insulting sensei...!_

_Ichigo seemed to feel a little like that himself; he gave Rukia an insulted glare._

"_What's funny about that?"_

_Then the sound faded away; Tatsuki couldn't catch the next bit from where she was. She turned to her friend and to her surprise found Orihime turning the dish away from the people in front of them, a look on her face that somehow was both spacey and focused at the same time._

"_What are you doing?"_

_Orihime ignored the hissed complaint, and continued to move the dish around a little more._

"_You don't have my experience...which, I might add, is..."_

_Rukia was keeping her voice down, but there was the superior attitude to it she'd shown Tatsuki the evening before. Even from this distance, Tatsuki could see it was irritating Ichigo to no end._

'Experience', huh?

_For just a moment Tatsuki instincts imagined what that meant._

_But then she began to wonder..._

_There was a seriousness and sureness to the words that seemed to indicate that Rukia wasn't talking about the obvious. And there was the fact that Ichigo had called on sensei for help..._

_Tatsuki could see Rukia looking up at him, glaring again, though there wasn't much strength to it. In fact, she looked like she'd had kind of a rough morning._

"_Teaching you...?"_

_Ichigo again returned her glare, one Tatsuki wanted to throw Orihime's way as the girl waved the dish around yet again._

"_It's the least you could do, seeing as how I'm doing your job for you."_

_A job...?_

_More of Tatsuki's fears about the new girl were coming back to her. When she'd gotten up this morning, Tatsuki had resolved to lighten up about Rukia; she'd almost certainly been over-reacting to what was going on._

_But now..._

_Rukia looked for a moment like she was thinking, and then she smiled and shook her head._

"_Thanks for the joke, Ichigo; I needed that."_

_Ichigo turned to face his 'companion', his eyes wide._

"_What the...?"_

_Orihime suddenly turned off the dish and hid it behind her back, and then she started swaying her head as though listening to music. Tatsuki pulled off her headphones and just rolled her eyes heavenward, hoping that the two people in front of them wouldn't notice what was going on._

_But this time Ichigo and Rukia seemed oblivious to anything outside of the two of them; after a few moments, Orihime quietly turned the dish back on._

"_...this is just temporary, remember; as soon as I'm...better, I'll leave. Until then, I'll only tell you what I need in order to help you get the job done."_

"_Like you've been 'helping' me so far?"_

_Rukia closed her eyes and sighed; when she opened them again she looked at one of her hands._

"_I...I don't know what happened over there...it's still like that now, kind of..."_

_He arched an eyebrow._

"_What are you talking about?"_

_Rukia turned her head to him, and Tatsuki could see that she was actually troubled. For the first time, Ichigo was actually looking at his companion with concern._

"_Are you okay?"_

"_I don't know, I don't think so. I should have recovered days ago. But...I don't know..."_

_She shook her head sadly._

"_I know you don't like doing this stuff, that it's a 'distraction'..."_

_Ichigo frowned._

"_I didn't say that-"_

_She held up a hand._

"_You've had that attitude for a while now. I don't blame you; you shouldn't be having to do this. Maybe if things had been different..."_

_She shook her head again, and for just a moment Tatsuki thought she could make out something under Rukia's breath..._

"_...I hate this existence..."_

"_What are you two doing?"_

_Tatsuki froze solid on the sidewalk, and then turned to see Kunieda Ryou and Natsui Mahana standing behind her, a suspicious smirk on the taller girl's face._

Aw, man...what do I-?

_Orihime had continued to slowly scan the area with the small dish, and only after a minute did she seem to notice their 'guests'. She calmly took off her headphones and let them rest around her neck while she smiled at Ryou._

"_Oh, hey Kunieda-san, Natsui-san!"_

"_Checking up on your would-be 'boyfriend'?"_

_Ryou pointed at Ichigo and Rukia in the distance._

_Orihime turned to look at the people being pointed to and then looked scandalized._

"_No! I'd never do such a thing...okay, at least not in public..."_

_The two newcomers looked like they didn't believe a word of it._

"_Right, so what _were_ you doing?"_

_Orihime's expression became serious. Or at least as serious as Orihime could look._

"_Aliens."_

_The expression on the two girls' faces was eloquent._

"_What?"_

_Orihime nodded her head vigorously and held up the dish._

"_I've been checking for alien energy signatures with this. Tatsuki was nice enough to help me out and-"_

_The light-bulb turned on in Tatsuki's head; she turned on her friend and glared at her, even as she removed her own headphones._

"_You mean that's what we've been doing this whole time? You've got to be kidding me!"_

_Ryou and Mahana looked very puzzled, as though they didn't want to believe what was going on. But after a few moments they just shook their heads and started to move away from Orihime._

"_What an airhead..."_

"_The only aliens around here are the ones invading her brain..."_

_Orihime pouted, a hurt look on her face as she gazed at her toy._

"_But I just got it in the mail last week..."_

_It made Tatsuki internally shake her head in admiration; Orihime had been pretty clever moving that dish around. Maybe they didn't get as much of the conversation as they would have liked, but the action gave some validity to that fig-leaf of a story about aliens. Enough that people wouldn't immediately be talking about the two of them spying on Rukia and Ichigo's conversations._

_Inoue Orihime might be odd, but her grades confirmed one thing Tatsuki knew._

_Her friend was most definitely not stupid._

_And in the meantime Tatsuki could savor the priceless looks that Rukia and Ichigo were throwing her and Orihime's way, now that they had finally discovered they were being watched..._

A little later Chizuru had come up and tried to play 'marriage counselor' or something. Tatsuki hadn't wanted to know what was going on, though she could guess; having Rukia attached to Ichigo meant Orihime was 'free' for that...beast.

Even now, the redhead was casting the occasional glance at Orihime, and even one or two challenging ones at Tatsuki. It got her blood up, so she tried to think of something else.

What had Rukia meant by 'a job'? Nothing legitimate, that was for sure; Rukia was too new to have found some kind of work around here. And whatever it was Ichigo didn't like doing it, though Tatsuki had to admit her oldest friend wasn't exactly a salaryman-in-training.

What was he doing that would require sensei's help?

She was getting a bad feeling that that fell in the realm of 'You don't even want to know' territory...

"Tatsuki-chan...are you zoning out again?"

Orihime's words broke Tatsuki's line of thought and she shook herself back to reality. Looking around, she could see that class was breaking up; she'd completely missed the bell.

_I really don't have my head in the game, do I?_

"Oh...yeah, just thinking is all..."

Orihime smiled as Tatsuki got out of her own chair. As they started walking out of the room, the ginger-haired student shook her head.

"All right, but please be careful; I'm supposed to be the space-cadet, remember?"

Tatsuki almost want to laugh at that, and the thought helped invigorate her a little.

"Okay, okay, I'll try to be more 'with it'."

"Good, now we can take part in the most important meal of the day!"

Tatsuki looked at her friend a little weird as they entered the hallway, joining the other students filing out of the room.

"Why is lunch the most important?"

Orihime beamed, and Tatsuki braced herself for one of the girl's odd answers.

"Because, that's when we girls go out and strut our stuff in front of the boys!"

Orihime made what would have been a seductive pose...if she wasn't obviously just pretending. And Tatsuki would have laughed...if it weren't for the fact that, at heart, she was absolutely right.

Well...Tatsuki didn't go trolling for guys, but she knew more than a few who did...

"Oh, Tatsuki-chan, I almost forgot: weren't you going to tell Kurosaki-kun off about what happened last evening?"

At the mention of the time, most of the students in earshot turned their attention on Orihime and Tatsuki. Ichigo and Rukia stopped and immediately tensed up, a worried look in each of their eyes.

It caused Tatsuki to stop for a moment herself.

Why would Rukia be worried? She was the victim...

Kojima Mizuiro was the one who opened his mouth first.

"What happened?"

As she turned her mind to the evening before, some part of Tatsuki wanted to hurt her oldest friend, but instead she satisfied herself with glaring at Ichigo.

"Orihime and I ran into Rukia yesterday after school..._alone_. After you two left here..._together_."

Orihime gave one of her patented smiles and nodded her head.

"Yeah, and then those White Tengu guys ran into us and..."

The ginger-haired student's voice trailed off as she realized that everyone was now looking at Ichigo, and not in a good way. He in turn gave Rukia a hard look.

"You didn't tell me that-"

"You were attacked by those biker thugs? Those bastards!"

Tatsuki's attention went back to where Chizuru had just appeared next to Orihime, an outraged look on her face.

Orihime just smiled at the red-head in response.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Honshou-san..."

Chizuru stared at Orihime in disbelief.

"Don't worry about it? You could've been killed!"

Orihime just smiled and shook her head.

"Actually, we kicked their butts!"

To illustrate, the ginger-haired student got into a mock fighting pose and proceeded to throw a couple of punches; Tatsuki wouldn't have been surprised if the girl was daydreaming about beating down some imaginary bad guys.

Everybody in the hallway just looked at her weird; everybody except for Chizuru. She lapped it up, her eyes gaining a look of idol-worship in them.

"Oh, my Hime! Brains, beauty and brawn! You are perfection itself, you are...!"

_Ignore her...she hasn't touched Orihime yet...you have more important things to do...you don't want to be sent to juvenile hall for murder..._

Rukia simply smiled and then turned to Ichigo.

"That's why I didn't mention it to you: everything worked out."

The orange-haired student wasn't even remotely convinced, and he looked at Orihime and Tatsuki with an obvious mix of concern and shame.

Even though he could be an idiot about it, Tatsuki knew he still tried to protect people...and now the new girl had kept him from doing that.

Tatsuki could see she'd once again have to pull his head out of his-

"Yeah, and it wasn't as scary as those Yakuza guys last night..."

Most of the people in the room just stopped and stared at Orihime, including Tatsuki.

_Oh no..._

"What?"

Tatsuki internally sighed; her friend _was_ going to be giving that same story she'd used last night...

Now that she had an audience, Orihime started gesturing as she told her 'story' with a wide-eyed seriousness.

"There were a bunch of guys who came into my apartment and shot the place up! They were really scary and had machine guns, and I think one of them had a bazooka or something, and..."

It only took the poor girl a few moments to realize that everyone in earshot was either staring at her or shaking their heads in disbelief. She stopped her manic arm waving and her shoulders slumped as she sighed.

"...And you guys don't believe me..."

One of the girls collected herself enough to address Orihime.

"Is there any reason we-"

Tatsuki sighed and turned to face as much of the crowd as she could.

"It was a gas explosion; at least that's what Ichigo's dad said when we woke up. Blew one wall off the side of the apartment."

The dead-serious way Tatsuki said it caused everyone in the hall to stare at her with concern, including Ichigo.

"Wait a minute...dad...?"

Tatsuki nodded, and felt herself feel a little better at the belief and respect she commanded; it always helped to have a good reputation. It made it easier to get people to listen to you and do what you wanted.

Another wonderful lesson from Feng-sensei.

One of the other students collected themselves enough to speak.

"And the two of you are completely unhurt?"

Tatsuki made a show of thinking about it for a minute, and then shrugged.

"As far as we could tell; we were in the other room when it happened."

It took a few more moments, and then the people present absorbed the news and started doing things like shake their heads in disbelief or look at the girls in wonder. Mizuiro in particular was looking seriously impressed with them.

"Man, talk about miracles..."

Tatsuki had to agree with the man; the other paramedics and cops who had come to the scene had basically said the same thing.

Orihime and her should have wound up in the hospital, or at least gotten some cuts and scrapes for their trouble.

But, no, they were fine...

Or at least they would be fine if Tatsuki could find it in her heart to throw Chizuru out one of the windows. The redhead was still near Orihime; in fact, she'd gotten a little closer, and...

To the brunette's surprise, the usual playfulness was gone from Chizuru's face. For the first time Tatsuki had known her, the woman was looking at Orihime with an utterly serious look of concern.

"Orihime...are you two really all right?"

The serious tone of the words matched the woman's face, and for just a moment Tatsuki began to wonder if maybe Chizuru wasn't entirely bad...

Orihime for her part just gave one of her bright smiles and rubbed the back of her head, as though she were now embarrassed to have even brought the subject up.

"Oh yeah; after Kurosaki-kun's dad looked us over, we went to Tatsuki-chan's place to spend the rest of the night. I mean, we're fine."

Chizuru still looked unsure.

"Well...that's good, but..."

"Oh, and don't worry about where I'm going to sleep; I've got a room of my own at Furin Hall. I'll just stay there until my apartment gets fixed."

The red head seemed to think about it for a moment, and then looked at Orihime again with the same intensity as before.

"Orihime, if you ever need any help, you know you just have to ask, okay?"

The ginger-haired student seemed taken aback for a moment, and then nodded her head happily.

"Thanks, Honshou-san."

The pretty picture lasted for just a moment before Chizuru started getting a lustful look in her eyes again. Tatsuki felt her blood boiling again at the scene, but before she could do anything about it a boy from another class motioned for attention.

He was standing near the hall windows and Tatsuki filed away the fact that he had a pair of binoculars in his hand; she was probably going to pound on him later this semester if she was right about what he usually used those things for...

"Hey guys, I see Feng Shaolin down in the quad!"

Tatsuki immediately began to relax, and she exchanged a smile with Orihime.

Although Tatsuki still had this feeling...

* * *

><p><em>Sui-Feng checked behind her as she 'stepped' through the forest.<em>

_The gold ribbon tied to her waist was still flying through the air – all ten meters or so of it – kept aloft by her speed and agility through this place. For just a moment, it looked like it might hit a tree, but a quick side-step and the ribbon snapped away from its would be captor..._

_...only to almost be snagged by a tree on the other side of the 'path' the assassin was taking. Another quick move to the side as she raced through the forest saved it from that, only to send it at yet another tree..._

_And another and another..._

_It irritated Sui-Feng to no end, but that was the point of this exercise: move through the forest at top speed, avoiding obstacles and making sure that the ribbon both never touched the ground and came through unscathed. It was supposed to simulate making your way through an area quickly, while still keeping an eye on what was behind you._

_At least that's what the elders kept saying; personally the young assassin thought they were just trying to torture her._

_She supposed she should have been proud; most people in this line of work only did this on an open field, a test of pure speed._

_But Sui-Feng wasn't the only one here, the one competing for the attention of the clan. And as if that weren't enough..._

_Shihouin Yoruichi herself was observing this 'spectacle'._

_The assassin knew she could not screw this up; clan honor and reputation were on the line._

_Thankfully, there wasn't much of the course left to go, and the ribbon, as far as she could tell, was still intact; she just had to be careful about her next selections of 'steps' and she would have made it. _

_And at the end would be-_

_A flash of silver up above caught Sui-Feng's eye, and almost made her trip up on a stone._

_Mei Xing..._

_Sui-Feng saw the woman pass over her, and she could almost feel the other woman's calm determination from down here. The other assassin arced gracefully through the air – no doubt she'd leaped from a tree branch or something – and then disappeared into the forest ahead of her._

_The young shinigami shook her head in frustration, even as she landed on a boulder and then 'stepped' to a patch of grass._

_Sui-Feng's cousin was always showing her up in front of the elders, always making her look weak or stupid or slow._

_But Sui-Feng was determined not lose to that woman this time._

_The Defender of the Realm was watching._

_Sui-Feng's heroine was watching..._

_She would not look bad in her goddess' eyes._

_The assassin picked up her speed, careful to keep an eye out for where to go when she 'stepped'._

_A set of tree branches, then a small rock by a stream, then another patch of grass. One's eyes had to be sharp if one was to use shunpo to its most effective, as that allowed one to see and plan longer 'steps'._

_And she was the best._

_She knew she was the best._

_Better than Mei Xing definit-_

_She landed on a tree branch; it looked sturdy enough, but as soon as she touched it the thing broke clean off._

_Sui-Feng 'stepped' again, this time to a creek where her foot brushed gravel...that shifted like sand and caught her foot. She looked over, saw the ribbon begin to sag, looked down and saw a flash of silver moving deeper into the rock and..._

That bitch, she's using her zanpaktou!

_Sui-Feng tugged as hard as she could and managed to pull herself free. She shot forward, 'stepping' along two tree branches and then another boulder before feeling the satisfying snap of the ribbon going taut again._

_Now all she had to do was finish this race without Mei Xing causing her further problems._

_A few more 'steps' brought the assassin out of the forest and to a small escarpment. Looking out over it briefly, Sui-Feng could see a creek and a field beyond it. Beyond that, she could see the place where her superiors were gathered at the 'finish line' for this exercise._

_She had almost made it..._

_Just a little bit more..._

_A glint of silver caught the corner of her eye, but before she could react she heard a cracking in the rock. Almost as soon as she'd made her next 'step', the face of the cliff collapsed and soon it was just a mass of boulders making their way to the creek below._

_The young shinigami tried to keep her footing, tried to get out of harm's way, but there was too much confusion, too much chaos in the dust and rubble. It was all she could do to keep her balance and not be ground up by the debris._

_It didn't help that she could see Mei Xing arrive on the field below and streak across it in a silver line._

_But her own ribbon...she could almost feel it falling and catching..._

_Sui-Feng steeled herself. She would not lose, not when she was this close._

_She had only one shot at this._

_She tried to gain as much balance as she could, tried to calm her mind, keep her eyes steady and pick a target..._

_The ribbon caught, and for a moment Sui-Feng was yanked back. She started falling into the mass of rubble and wondered if this was it..._

_Then she felt a breeze blow past that had nothing to do with the churning mess around her. In fact, she thought she could feel the energy of a person in it, the slight presence of someone blowing on the wind._

_But that couldn't be._

_What did happen was she regained her footing, and she could feel the ribbon fly free again._

_Sui-Feng quickly thanked the gods, and then turned her attention back to trying to get out of this mess. She picked a target, centered herself, and then made the leap..._

_There!_

_The young shinigami landed on the far side of the creek, and then started moving across the field; even as she heard the debris from the cliff crash into the water, Sui-Feng could also feel the ribbon at her back snap behind her and follow her across the field._

_She was going to make it!_

_But not before her cousin; the woman was already standing in front of the elders, her ribbon a silver line on the ground._

_Some part of Sui-Feng felt rage and shame at the fact that Mei Xing had actually beaten her to the finish line, had won the race. The young assassin knew she would be given a talking to by her elders for coming in second, and she supposed she deserved it._

_But it didn't matter right now; the feelings flowing in her merely served as fuel to make her fly across the field, golden sun warming her and her golden ribbon._

_She felt a little upset and angry, but she also felt...proud for some reason as she made her last 'step' and came to a rest at the far end of the field. A moment passed, and she could feel the ribbon slowly settle; as it landed, Sui-Feng could feel her own soul begin to rest a little as well._

_The part of her life, at least, was over._

_But now came the next test of her nerves. The assembled elders waited patiently as some more recruits came in, each 'stepping' in a line next to Sui and Mei Xing. It helped the assassin's pride that she wasn't the last to make it here by any means, but she was careful not to get too arrogant._

_It wouldn't be seemly to act that way in front of Shihouin-hime, wherever she was..._

_Another few minutes passed, time spent waiting until the last of the racers had arrived and their different colored ribbons lay on the ground. The look on the recruits was as varied as their 'cargo' – some were proud at how they'd done, others were nervous or exhausted, while others just seemed to want to go home no matter the results._

_She looked over to the older Feng members, who themselves were examining and talking over the results of the 'exercise'. They were a stern lot, hard to please at the best of times, and they looked no more lenient this time around._

_Sui-Feng strained her eyes as she looked at the group; she had to be there...somewhere..._

_There she was, coming out of the crowd to examine the recruits..._

_It was the goddess herself!_

_Shihouin Yoruichi was dressed simply this day, in the black outfit of the Onmitsukidou, her long hair done in a simple ponytail devoid of ornamentation. But even from here Sui-Feng could feel the charisma and reiatsu of the woman mix into something more heady than any perfume. Even tired and battered as she was, the 'feel' of her lady energized the young shinigami; it was all she could do to simply stand ram-rod straight instead of luxuriate in the..._

_She was so preoccupied that she only just noticed Shihouin-hime examining Mei Xing's ribbon. The other woman was standing at attention almost mechanically, no nervousness or excitement showing in her features; only a calm detachment as her clan's mistress ran the length of the silver cloth through her hands._

_Sui-Feng watched...waited..._

_Shihouin-hime was almost agonizingly slow to look over the ribbon, and as each meter flowed past, Sui-Feng looked in vain for any imperfections, any tears or fraying of the cloth._

_But it was just one long, perfect stream of silver, right to the end._

_The young shinigami tried to keep the disappointment and frustration out of her posture and her facial expression._

_Her cousin had done it again. And now..._

_And now Shihouin-hime was headed right for her!_

_Sui-Feng did everything she could to stay calm and detached, and yet alert and ready, and yet..._

Oh, who am I kidding...?

_The dark-skinned woman came right up to Sui-Feng, a small, bemused smile on her face. The smile grew a little wider after a moment, and it took all of the younger shinigami's resolve to just stand there, holding herself neutral, instead of..._

_Well, she wanted to leap in joy or die of nervousness or-_

_She hadn't noticed her lady stepping behind her, and then looking over the gold ribbon Sui-Feng had tied to her back. The woman ran the cloth more slowly through her hands than she had Mei Xing's, and she inspected it more carefully._

_And Sui-Feng's heart crashed when she saw why._

_The bright gold of the ribbon had become dulled by dirt and leaf stains. Its smooth sides and even weave were frayed in a number of places. And there was even a piece missing from the middle of it._

_Sui-Feng couldn't believe this._

_She'd been so careful...she'd tried so hard..._

_And now her lady was getting to see each and every failure her underling had committed._

_It was humiliating._

_She simply stood there silently as Shihouin-hime finished with the ribbon and then came back up to face her. There was a serious look on the older woman's face._

"_Your name is Sui-Feng, right?"_

_It was all the young shinigami could do to nod._

"_Yes...yes, milady..."_

_Shihouin-hime simply digested that for a moment and then nodded._

"_You're going to need to keep improving on that, you know?"_

I'm not going to cry...I'm not going to cry...

"_Yes, milady..."_

_Then the dark-skinned woman smiled and grabbed Sui-Feng's hand. Before she could do anything, she felt something pressed into it._

"_Please do so; I'd hate to make a habit of doing that for you."_

_Sui-Feng didn't say anything as her mistress let go and started to walk away._

_Habit of what?_

_The young assassin turned her attention to her hand and looked at what had been given to her._

_It was a small piece of gold cloth...about the size and shape of..._

_Then it dawned on her what had happened back at the cliff._

_Did...did Shihouin-hime...?_

_The thought rocked her to her heels, and then she felt the deepest joy and resolution fill her._

_She would do better...she would make herself worthy of Shihouin-hime's attentions..._

_And one day she would wipe the floor with her cousin..._

* * *

><p>"I hope I don't have to deal with Mei Xing again..."<p>

"_Our favorite 4th Seat? Why would you be worried about that?"_

Shaolin stood at the edge of the grounds for Karakura High, in a spot with a good view of the school track. It had probably been that which had caused the long-ago memory to resurface.

That and the thoughts that had been keeping her up much of last night after Ichigo had returned her home...

She shook herself and focused on the present again.

"I'll get to that in a little bit. First a little more 'putting out heads together'; I don't like what I'm sensing at this place..."

"_Yes, I do not like it either."_

As she walked onto the campus proper, heading for the school's main building, Shaolin could feel the residue of Ichigo's reiatsu. It was all over the place, and the assassin wasn't surprised. Even as a human the young man pumped out a large amount of energy, enough to make it easy to track his general location in Karakura.

But now he was a shinigami, meaning that he signature around here was even more powerful; she'd probably be getting sick and tired of 'smelling' him soon enough. And Shaolin could feel this 'Rukia's' reiatsu intermingled with Ichigo's; even in the residue, she could feel the same snowy chill as last night.

She was not happy about that...not happy with the way Ichigo was being used.

Well, she was about to end all that...

Shaolin shook her head.

"She probably performed the ritual before they went to school; primed him in case she needed her...servant."

"_I know you will not like this, but that is not a bad idea considering the situation. She may very well need someone like that in case this place gets attacked."_

Shaolin couldn't argue with Hana's logic; this was yet another place the Hollows would love if they ever discovered it.

Even so...

"I'm not allowing this to go on, Hana. At least, not the way it's been going on."

There was a long pause.

"_Are you going to try training him?"_

The sudden question caught Shaolin off-guard.

"You mean Ichigo?"

"_Yes."_

Shaolin thought about that for a moment.

"How about we get this problem with Kuchiki-hime taken care of? Then all of us – and I'm including Ichigo and Isshin-san with this – can talk about training."

It still bothered her that Isshin would have so readily accepted the idea of training his son, after all the excuses and outright obstructionism before. Add to that Ichigo's attitude the night before...

Something told Shaolin that the was a nasty surprise waiting for her.

"_Then how about we discuss what this matter about Ichigo-san's reiatsu says about Kuchiki-hime's attitudes, and perhaps you will also deign to tell me what you plan to do once we run into her?"_

Shaolin smiled at her invisible companion's comments.

"I've done some thinking about that... Knowing Ichigo, he probably either told the girl everything about me, or almost nothing."

"_Which means that if she is still using that ritual you mentioned yesterday, either the latter is the case, or the woman is exceedingly arrogant or deranged."_

Shaolin sighed.

"I can just see it now...I confront her, and then she points at me..."

"_And says something to Ichigo-san like 'To me my lackey! Defend your master unto death!'..."_

The ex-shinigami visualized that for a minute and then shook her head.

"Fun as this exercise is, that's not necessarily what's happening. Our noble friend might have figured out from Ichigo's description what she was facing, and then decided that hiding would be a good strategy."

She could just sense Hana nodding in understanding.

"_Giving Ichigo-san...how much of her power?"_

"About half, give or take."

"_Half her power, then... That would lower her profile...make it easier for her to hide here... A good idea, but most people of 'good breeding' would probably just make a run for it; that is the simpler alternative."_

Shaolin couldn't help but smirk.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Hana...Ichigo probably didn't tell her much. So we have the element of surprise..."

"_Which, as an assassin, you of course like."_

Shaolin had to agree with that; maybe it was training or simply nine generations of Feng blood in her veins, but she liked shadows and evening on some level.

Not darkness, though. Even her night-vision had its limits...

"Now, let's move on to the next thing...something that kind of kept me up this morning."

"_The nightmare?"_

The ex-shinigami shook her head, as much to clear it of the memory as to say 'no'.

"I managed to get a feel of Kuchiki-hime's reiatsu last night, and it's been worrying me the more I think about it."

"_How so?"_

"She isn't a natural-born member of the Clan."

There was a pause.

"_Which does not exactly make sense, considering the picture we have drawn of her versus the one you gave me of the Kuchiki yesterday."_

Shaolin stopped for a moment to ponder some of the cherry trees planted on the school quad. It irritated her that she'd missed their blossoming this year; she could have seen them with Ichigo as she took a look at his new 'digs', and none of this would have ever happened...

Oh well, Hiyori couldn't possibly have known about this mess.

She sighed and got back to the conversation.

"If Rukia had been adopted young, the Clan would have never allowed her to grow up the way she seems to. They probably would have killed her first."

"_And if they had adopted her at an older age, they would have known what they were 'buying' and would have never let her out of the house."_

There was a long pause; Shaolin used the opportunity to try to imagine the trees here in full bloom.

"_I would _kill_ to know what sort of favor would have to be traded for something like that. If that is what we are dealing with, of course..."_

The ex-shinigami smiled at her friend's comment, and started towards her rendezvous again.

"Probably nothing cheap. But that's not the only possibility."

"_And _that_ is what kept you up?"_

Shaolin nodded, a now-serious look on her face.

"Hana, the only reason we think this person is a Kuchiki is because Tatsuki-chan said she was using the name."

"_That would be exceedingly dangerous. I may not know the ins and outs of Soul Society nobility, but impersonating a member of a Great Clan..."_

The ex-shinigami sighed.

"This city probably _is_ some backwater nowhere; if they were careful, they might be able to pull it off..."

"_Talking to jii-sama is not exactly being careful, Shaolin..."_

Shaolin had to agree with that.

"_...unless, of course, he _willingly_ gave this girl a gigai and this whole thing is one of his 'experiments'."_

"Yeah, I thought that might be what's going on, too. Gods alone knows how many times that man has blown up his own shop."

Shaolin remembered one time in particular when she pulled his still-smoking body out of the charred ruins of the Shoten. He'd collapsed to the ground, his body not moving and...

It was probably the only time she had ever pressed her lips to that of another person since...

The memory still brought a blush to the assassin's cheeks.

"_I doubt he would try to use the name 'Kuchiki' for an agent; the girl could have used any other name, and it would have been just as good to the students here."_

"And less dangerous for Kisuke-san."

Shaolin stopped for a moment on the pathway, and her eyes looked for something that wasn't there in the clear early summer sky.

"That leaves the last possibility...that someone in Soul Society is playing games again..."

"_And hence your worry about running into your cousin again."_

The ex-shinigami closed her eyes and took in a calming breath; she wasn't feeling worried, but the action did relieve some of the tension.

"It may not be 2-Bantai; it may just be politics as usual over there."

The thought left a sour taste in her mouth; how dangerous was the 'Hollow threat' again, if they could afford to pull stunts like this?

"_But if it is the Onmitsukidou, all bets are off on Kuchiki-hime's identity and what she is here for."_

Shaolin continued towards the concrete and glass building again; she needed to be to the rendezvous point on time.

"_'Kuchiki Rukia' could simply be some nobody they pulled out of the rank and file, from any unit..."_

"...Or, she could be from 2-Bantai itself; there would be no way to tell."

The was a pause.

"_I suppose you think they have come for the Hougyoku?"_

Shaolin actually smiled a little at that.

"Maybe she's here for the Magic Marble. Then again, it's been here for almost a century; you'd think 2-Bantai would have made a play for it earlier."

"_Then perhaps Rukia really is out to get Ichigo into trouble, just as Arisawa-san feared."_

The ex-shinigami arched an eyebrow.

"You mean to draw Isshin out? They're a couple of decades late for that. Then again, they could be after me."

"_I doubt it. You travel a lot and make too much noise when you do; why not attack you in a place where you have no allies? And, if they want to get your attention, why not use a handsome young man for the bait..."_

Shaolin sighed and shook her head in disgust.

"You, Kisuke-san...even Suzumebachi... Will you all give that stuff a rest?"

"_Maybe we are all trying to tell you something."_

Shaolin shook her head again, this time to clear it.

"How about we stop for now, Hana; we're not going to get very far without more information about Kuchiki-hime. Otherwise we're going to fall into trading conspiracy theories again."

There was a pause.

"_Shaolin, I am an artificial soul designed for combat by a black-ops project of 2- and 12-Bantai. I _am_ a conspiracy theory."_

The assassin got a little laugh out of that.

"All right, I'll make sure to watch for black helicopters."

She looked again to the fenced roof that was to be their meeting place with Ichigo, still some distance away.

"Let's go see what we're dealing with, shall we?"

* * *

><p>"So...what exactly am I going to be dealing with?"<p>

Rukia's question showed more than a little curiosity, something Tatsuki couldn't blame her for.

Ichigo had headed for the roof of the main building during the lunch period, and he'd made a point of almost literally dragging Rukia along. A nice change of pace, as far as Tatsuki was concerned, and the roof was a good place for a confrontation. It was isolated, fenced in, and only had one exit from it; a great place to corner and contain the slippery little vixen.

If only it weren't so crowded.

At first, few had known what was going on when they saw Ichigo and his 'companion', but then word got around that Feng Shaolin was on the campus, and it became clear to everyone...

The reckoning was upon Kuchiki Rukia.

Tatsuki and Orihime had of course followed the pair.

Then Chizuru had followed the both of them.

Keigo and Mizuiro had followed the five of them.

And then everyone they passed in the hallway had followed _them_...

Now it looked like half the school was on the flat space, waiting with baited breath to see what Feng-sensei would do to this...outsider.

Tatsuki and Orihime themselves were a little distance away from Ichigo and Rukia. Beyond still feeling uncomfortable about being near Rukia, Tatsuki didn't want her or Orihime getting caught up in any trouble and she wanted to see the show from a good seat.

Although with Chizuru hovering at just-out-of-killing range from Orihime, Tatsuki had to wonder just how good the 'seats' were...

At least Rukia was apparently taking the hint that she was in deep trouble.

Even though the petite student wasn't looking visibly nervous, there was just something about the vibe she gave off that said she was feeling the heat.

And there was a part of Tatsuki's soul that deeply hoped the girl was feeling honestly scared.

Rukia looked around again; Mizuiro and Keigo had come closer than most people. The small student turned to them and gave an outwardly confident gaze to the pair.

"Let me guess: you guys have been taking bets?"

Mizuiro probably had the most honestly innocent smile Tatsuki had ever seen on anyone, though his eyes had the same interest as everyone else.

"...There might have been one or two..."

Rukia made her own interested smile.

"How are my odds?"

Keigo made a show of thinking about it for a moment, and then he shook his head sadly.

"Not good, Rukia, not good. Do you know anything about Feng-san?"

The petite girl just looked at Ichigo with a sort of playful annoyance that belied her interest in the subject on the way to school. The object of her attention just tried to ignore her and scan for the woman who might cut this ball and chain from him.

"Ichigo...forgot to mention that to me."

Keigo gave an eager smile.

"Well, she runs Furin Hall, the local martial arts dojo; she's pretty kick butt."

"And she's pretty hot, too."

The comment coming from Mizuiro shocked Tatsuki; even more shocking was that it was said in such a neutral voice that she was wondering if the young man really was just making an unbiased observation.

Keigo seemed to have no such concerns; he turned an utterly scandalized face on his companion.

"_Dude_...she's old enough to be your mother!"

The shorter teenager didn't bat an eyelash.

"I'm calling it like I see it, Keigo. Besides, she doesn't look _that_ old."

Even as Keigo continued to sputter, Mizuiro turned his attention to Ichigo.

"Anyway, she's the one who trained Ichigo here, taught him everything he knows from what Keigo hears."

The petite girl's expression was turning even more playful, much to Ichigo's discomfort. Tatsuki felt like she wanted to deck Rukia for that, but there were witnesses...

"Ohhhh...everything? Ichigo, you really have been keeping me in the dark, haven't you?"

Ichigo just continued to gaze off to nowhere in particular.

"It's nothing; shut up guys."

Keigo just shook his head in mock-disbelief.

"Nothing?"

He sidled up to Rukia and motioned to her orange-haired companion.

"The man's too modest. Rukia, you do know who you're in the presence of, right?"

Rukia now wore an expression of wide-eyed ignorance and shook her head; it disgusted Tatsuki because she could see the girl's reaction was fake, but it seemed to convince Keigo to go on.

"This is one of the guardians of Karakura High – one of the Demons of Mashiba Middle School. The other one's Chad over there."

From a place off to one side, the tall half-Mexican just raised a hand in salutation and then...went back to whatever he was doing.

Rukia's eyes went wide at the discovery and then she looked at Ichigo again, this time with a mock-breathlessness.

"Really, a 'demon'?"

Even as the object of Rukia's attention rolled his eyes, and Tatsuki crammed down the urge to vomit, Keigo nodded his head vigorously.

"Yeah, he's the reason this is going to be one of the safest schools in the country; with the kind of record he has from his middle school days he-"

"Scared the hell out of you, Keigo."

Keigo stopped and then stared slack-jawed at his friend's nonchalant interruption, an expression Mizuiro characteristically ignored.

"At least, until he found out he could suck up to the 'mighty one' here..."

As the shorter teen pointed at Ichigo, the expression on Keigo's face turned into a mixture of outrage and horror.

"_HEY!_"

His chance at impressing everyone ruined, Keigo turned to a handy piece of chain-link to momentarily sulk.

Rukia for her part was still looking at Ichigo in almost wide-eyed wonder.

"Ichigo, I had no idea..."

Then Rukia's face turned thoughtful.

"But then why am I in trouble?"

"Let's put it this way: Feng Shaolin still calls 'the Demon' over there 'Ichigo-kun' from time to time."

Tatsuki just swung her head around at the owner of the comment. Ishida Uryuu was just sitting next to some of the fencing a little ways away with a textbook in his hand, prim and proper as always; the only sign that he was participating in the 'debate' being the small smile on his face.

Ichigo, hearing the honorific, turned an outraged expression towards his and Tatsuki's former comrade.

"Uryuu, you...!"

The man in question made a point of continuing to read his textbook and work through his lunch, radiating a smugly superior attitude in his isolation. It only served to make Ichigo even angrier.

Tatsuki couldn't blame Ichigo; she liked her close relationship with Feng-sensei, but the idea of being called 'Tatsuki-chan' by her...it _was_ getting a little old at times...

Ichigo took a few more moments to give Uryuu the glaring of a lifetime, and then decided to give up and try ignoring the man.

"Damn it!"

Rukia ignored Ichigo's outburst and seemed to think on what had been said.

"So...they're really close?"

From his spot off to one side, Chad gave a simple nod.

"She's a friend of the family. Good people."

The look on Keigo's face was far more sly as he kept his attention on Rukia; Tatsuki didn't like it at all.

"Well, she acts like it, but don't be fooled..."

He came in even closer, his expression now almost conspiratorial and lowered his voice.

"I hear she used to kill people for a living, like some sort of mercenary, or-"

Mizuiro just looked heavenward for a moment.

"How about you say what you're really thinking, Keigo: that she's some kind of ex-Yakuza or Triad enforcer, who had run from the syndicate to-"

"Okay, that's enough, Mizuiro, do you want to get me killed?"

Keigo went a little wild-eyed, and turned those wild eyes to Tatsuki, apparently trying to see what her reaction would be.

Tatsuki just stared at him.

"What?"

Okay, maybe she was a little bit of a cheerleader over sensei sometimes, but did that coward really think his life was in danger around her?

Mizuiro took a quick look of his own at Tatsuki and simply shrugged.

"You started it, Keigo."

"Well, at least it's better than what some people think Feng-san is."

Tatsuki turned to look and saw a couple of other students looking at her and Orihime as they spoke. They weren't from Karakura but from one of the neighboring towns – she forgot where exactly.

"Yeah, I mean you know what they said about her way back when?"

Tatsuki realized what Keigo had been worried about just a moment ago.

That was just never going to go away, was it?

Something clicked in Tatsuki, and all of a sudden she wanted to beat those people into pulp. She wanted to tear them apart. She wanted to-

"Guys...please don't go in that direction when talking about Feng-sensei."

Everyone turned their attention to Orihime; her voice was uncharacteristically serious, as was the look on her face. The words managed to stop Tatsuki as well, and she was suddenly calmer, and...

She didn't want to say she felt _ashamed_, but...

One of the girls raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?"

Orihime just shook her head a little and sighed, and then looked directly at Tatsuki as she spoke, making sure she had eye-contact.

"Because the police cleared sensei years ago. And I really don't want to have to have to fight Tatsuki-chan again..."

The other teens just looked at Tatsuki with momentary interest; the two girls were sparring partners, and so they'd 'fought' each other before.

But she knew what Orihime was talking about.

Their first meeting...

Now all the fire in Tatsuki sputtered out, and she really did feel ashamed. She almost couldn't face her friend now, but she could see that Orihime was just looking at her calmly.

The crisis was over, nobody was going to get hurt.

Orihime then turned her attention back to the rest of the people gathered and put on a face that was trying to professorial; it somehow managed to make her look a little haughty.

"Besides, I happen to know from personal experience that Feng-sensei is not Yakuza. She's invited Tatsuki-chan and I to a hot springs a couple of times, and I assure you she doesn't have an inch of tattooed skin on her body."

_That_ stopped the gathering completely.

Pretty much every male in the area turned to Tatsuki and Orihime, who was just smiling innocently as she stood in her gray school uniform. Tatsuki could pretty much tell what image they had in their minds, due to the looks on their faces; even Uryuu, Chad and Ichigo were blushing. Mizuiro seemed to be about the only one there who wasn't showing much reaction other than base curiosity.

The other girls, with the notable exception of Chizuru, first looked at Tatsuki and Orihime in shock, and then with jealousy as they realized the way the boys were acting...

Tatsuki had to admit, it was actually kind of flattering to be part of such a show, although she was sure the center of people's imagination was Orihime.

She was _definitely_ sure of that with Keigo, who was staring at the ginger-haired student's...assets; he looked like he was trying mightily to decide on whether to resist temptation or become the first man to reach orbit by way of explosive nosebleed.

To Tatsuki's utter disgust, Chizuru had the same look on her face.

It sent a shiver down Tatsuki's spine seeing that and made her want to...

"...Uhm...okay. Hot springs... So you're both pretty close to her, too?"

Rukia's interruption brought everyone back to reality; Chizuru and Keigo managed to control their drool, and Tatsuki had to reluctantly thank the new girl. The mention of her relationship with sensei helped get Tatsuki's own mind off sending Chizuru to orbit minus the nosebleed.

Tatsuki's own direct nod at the question wasn't as fancy as Orihime's vigorous one, but she felt the same warm feeling her friend probably did.

"Oh, you bet. In fact, if Ichigo is like the son Feng-san never had, Orihime and Tatsuki are like her beloved daughters."

Orihime stopped her nodding and looked a little embarrassed at Keigo's words, and Tatsuki had to admit she felt a little sheepish herself.

Favorite students? Yes, Tatsuki would definitely have been proud to admit that.

But actually being compared to a daughter?

Now that it was said that she didn't know how to feel.

But she did notice how someone else felt.

It only lasted a second, but Tatsuki caught a look of horror in Rukia's eyes, as well as her face going pale. And it was only with some difficulty that the smaller girl managed to plaster a smile over it.

It sent a thrill down Tatsuki's spine; this was going to be good when Feng-sen-

Then it hit Tatsuki.

There was no reason for the girl to be frightened of Tatsuki, and most definitely not of Orihime. Only of sensei's reaction to...

And then the feeling hit her again.

Tatsuki's heart began to speed up, and she could feel her throat tightening up.

She could feel that same release of restraints that she'd felt with those students just now...

She felt a fear for Orihime.

And anger at Rukia.

And at herself...

_No, Feng-sensei will take care of it; she'll definitely take care of it._

_There's nothing to worry about..._

A beeping sound came from one of Rukia's pockets. The girl pulled out her cell-phone, flipped it open, and after a moment shut it and stuffed it back into her pocket.

She gave Ichigo a determined look; he responded with what looked like the start of a groan.

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me!_

"Ichigo, we need to go now."

The young man looked indecisive.

"Ichigo!"

He still wouldn't move.

"Oh for crying out-"

She grabbed one of Ichigo's hands and then started pulling him towards the roof entrance. To the stunned onlookers, she just flashed a sheepish smile.

"I'm sorry everyone, but...you know..."

Another moment later, and Rukia and Ichigo were through the door, to the collective disappointment and bewilderment of the crowd.

Tatsuki stood in disbelief for a moment; all thoughts of the night before left her mind as she processed what was happening, and then she swung her head around wildly to see if there was any sign sensei was near.

There wasn't, just like her rational mind knew there wouldn't be.

But Tatsuki didn't care what her rational mind was saying any more. As she looked at the still-open roof exit door, she could only think of one thing...

That...that _bitch_ was going to get away again.

She couldn't let that happen; she just knew she couldn't.

Shaking her head with increasing force as she moved, Tatsuki made for the door and the stairwell beyond, a worried Orihime following close behind.

"Oh no you don't lady, not this time!"

* * *

><p>Shaolin was starting to feel a little...unnerved by the way people looked at her as she walked through the hallway of the school's main building. It wasn't anything specific, and the students weren't staring at her strangely or anything. It was just...<p>

When they looked at her, there was a sort of excitement in everyone's eyes. And expectation that something was going to happen...

She felt like the lone swordsman in an old samurai movie, her opponent waiting in the middle of town for their duel, and everyone else present quietly waiting for the event.

Which was more or less what was going on.

She decided to quietly voice her concerns to her friend.

"You know, I'm beginning to wonder if meeting here was such a good idea, Hana. Everyone's a little too...interested in me..."

"_I am not surprised; enough people know about your relationship with Ichigo that, after a few weeks, everyone here will have heard about it."_

Shaolin sighed.

"Both good and bad, I assume."

"_Probably... At least she presumably will not be starting up any rumors about you being...well..."_

The assassin closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. The memory didn't hurt all that bad anymore, but it was still irritating as hell.

"The Karakura Slasher; I know. Go on..."

The gikongan took a moment before answering.

"_In any event, everyone here knows that you are protective of him, and that you have been away for a few weeks. And during the time you were away..."_

Shaolin nodded in understanding.

"Kuchiki Rukia appears and starts moving in on my 'Ichigo-kun'."

"_I figure the entire school has been awaiting your arrival with baited breath for the last several days. They smell a fight, and they will probably all want to see it."_

Shaolin nodded again and then started for the door.

"Well, I don't know about a fight, but I'll let Kuchiki-hime decide what kind of show they get."

"Hey, c'mon, let go!"

Shaolin turned her head at the sound of Ichigo's voice coming from up ahead.

"_Apparently, she has decided to put on a good one..."_

"Ichigo, we need to-"

"Don't even think about it, woman! Not this time!"

The latter voice was definitely Tatsuki's, and she could only assume the other one belonged to Rukia; Shaolin had never heard it before. She started making her way to the stairwell, only to be interrupted by the sight of a short girl practically dragging Ichigo down the stairs by one arm.

"Oh, no you don't!"

Before they reached bottom a very determined and wrathful Tatsuki appeared, Orihime right behind her, and managed to grab Ichigo's other arm. Orihime grabbed Tatsuki and the stair railing, and in just a moment the three girls were having a full-on tug-of-war, with Ichigo in the middle.

"Let go, you mindless-!"

"No, you let go, you vertically-challenged-!"

"Tatsuki-chan, stop it, you're going to hurt Kurosaki-kun!"

"Yeah, c'mon, you're pulling my arms off!"

"_All right, that does it. Forget the gigai; when we next talk to jii-sama, I am going to demand he at least make a phone with a camera in it so I can see things like this..."_

Shaolin took a quick look around, and found that everyone in the hallway had of course stopped to gawk at the scene. Up above Orihime, the assassin could see more people on the stairs behind the foursome, all watching the scene play out.

Then Tatsuki noticed her and pointed wildly at the brunette further down the stairs.

"Sensei, that's her, that's her!"

The girl being pointed at looked at Shaolin with horror, and then proceed to tug even harder at Ichigo's arm.

Orihime just looked at the ex-shinigami with a pained expression that seemed to say 'sorry...'.

And poor Ichigo looked like he was trying to decide whether he wanted to scream for help or just scream in frustration.

It made Shaolin almost want to just turn around and come back later – she was sure Ichigo was strong enough to handle...

"Okay, that's enough!"

With a mighty effort, Ichigo managed to yank both of his arms in. He looked pleased with himself for a moment, but then realized that he'd thrown all three girls off-balance.

A moment passed, and then Tatsuki, Orihime and Rukia crashed into him from both directions. The force of the two girls above Ichigo knocked the mass down the rest of the stairs and into a heap on the floor below; after a moment of silence, everyone started laughing.

Shaolin sighed inwardly, and then she started heading towards them.

She might as well try to salvage what she could from the situation...

As she approached, the four teens – it was easier to think about than 'three teens and a probably hundred and fifty year old shinigami' – just lay there groaning in pain from the fall. Shaolin came up to the mess, made a show of looking at it, and gave a strained smiled at the man in the center of it.

"Hey, Ichigo. ...Did you need help?"

Ichigo just looked around as he was starting to come to his senses.

"No, I think I can get up just fine."

Shaolin shook her head and indicated the three girls around him.

"No, I meant with this. Collecting a harem can be pretty hard work, and..."

It took him a moment to see what she was getting at; due to the way everyone had fallen, Ichigo had wound up with Tatsuki pressed up to one side of him, Rukia on the other, and Orihime more or less on top of the pile.

Ichigo's face went an amazing shade of white at the same time his eyes practically popped out of his skull, even as other young men around him looked on the scene with mock- or real envy.

"_Obasan!_"

His shout and struggle to get out from the mess brought the girls to, and then they realized what was going on. As the hallways filled with laughter, the scene in front of Shaolin exploded in a series of female screams and the combined struggle of four horrified and publicly embarrassed teens.

They all managed to separate and scramble to their feet, and soon they were standing in a row in front of the ex-shinigami a different expression on each of their faces.

Ichigo was still horrified at what had just happened, even though his eyes said some animal part of his mind liked what had just happened.

Orihime, maybe not so oddly, had a similar look on a face that was turning a bright crimson, though it was also tinged with real worry; she was trying to physically restrain a Tatsuki who looked like she was one step away from killing Rukia for this outrage, regardless of who might be watching.

"You...you...I'm going to-!"

Shaolin gave her student a look that silenced Tatsuki and then held it; after a few moments the dark-haired girl seemed to remember herself a little and settled down.

That taken care of, Shaolin turned her attention to the girl she assumed to be Kuchiki Rukia.

The first thing the assassin noted was the girl _was_ short, given this time period; a century or two ago her height wouldn't have raised a single eyebrow, but now she was something of a midget. Shoulder length black hair which probably looked perpetually a little 'messy' framed a round face that nevertheless had a certain 'look' about it...

A look of quiet haughtiness that was mirrored in the girl's indigo eyes.

She didn't look uncomfortable in the gray blazer and skirt of the school uniform, but she also looked like a silk kimono and gold hairpieces would have been more appropriate attire.

All in all, she did look something like a Kuchiki.

And right now the girl also looked absolutely outraged, and more than a little upset; the ex-shinigami was sure her younger peer would be going off into some corner later to cry at the humiliation she'd just suffered.

But Rukia also looked like she was in a serious hurry, her eyes darting between Ichigo, the hallway, and her 'captors'.

Shaolin could imagine what Rukia was doing, but she had to wonder what everyone else was thinking.

"_I will ask later, but I imagine from what I have heard that the students here will be telling some stories..."_

Shaolin sighed internally yet again.

She figured she might as well be direct.

"You're Kuchiki Rukia, aren't you?"

The girl took a moment to respond, still looking like she was recovering from what had just happened as much as trying to figure a way to escape this trap with her 'charge'.

"Yes...yes, I am. And I suppose you are the Feng Shaolin I've been hearing about?"

Shaolin nodded, not caring much for the way the girl was looking at her or her behavior, and gave her a hard glare.

"And I've heard almost nothing about you...except for some 'rumors'. Care to explain what you're doing with my godson?"

Rukia stopped short at the abrupt answer, the rushed look disappearing from her features, and then her expression shifted to a haughty demeanor.

"That's none of your business! ...And what have you heard?"

Shaolin crossed her arms over her chest and spared Tatsuki a glance before pinning the Kuchiki scion with her eyes.

"That you've been hauling him off at all hours, like you are right now, making him miss school... And now this..."

She waved a hand at the four of them, and all of them started getting a little red-faced again.

"I won't have some bimbo I've never heard of before-"

"Bimbo?"

Tatsuki and Orihime's eyes went wide with amusement at the word, while Rukia looked around her, trying to figure out what the term meant. Then she gave up and just glared at Shaolin.

"I am not a...a 'bimbo'!"

She turned again to the orange-haired teen, who was simply standing there and watching the show.

"Ichigo! Do some-"

He shook his head as a satisfied smile began forming on his face, one that seemed to match the look also appearing on Tatsuki's; Orihime just looked like she was trying to back off from the scene now.

"No way, Rukia. I've been doing enough of your crap the last while; can't you take care of this one yourself?"

Rukia looked like she'd been slapped, and Shaolin couldn't blame her.

"_Apparently she does not have as firm a grip on his heart as everyone thinks... Then again, last night could not have helped their relationship."_

Even as the ex-shinigami silently agreed with her friend, she could see Rukia try to collect herself. The the girl turned back to Shaolin, an even more indignant look on her face even as she began to look rushed again.

"I am not going to be intimidated by you; I do have my pride, you know. And like I said, what Ichigo and I do away from here is our business."

Shaolin's smile started to become internal; she knew the girl was cornered, and she would be cracking soon. And she needed to get this done soon.

The ex-shinigami didn't like the idea of a Hollow running loose in Karakura any more than Rukia hopefully did.

"Until it becomes someone else's business-"

A loud beeping turned everyone's attention towards Rukia. The girl tried to ignore the sound for a moment, and then gave up and sighed.

"Look, it's been really nice meeting you, but Ichigo and I-"

"No!"

Everyone turned to look at Tatsuki, who had the beginnings of fresh outrage on her face. Orihime moved up to her friend so she could restrain her if necessary.

"You are not leaving with him until-"

"Tatsuki-chan, that's enough; I'll handle this."

Shaolin held up her hand for emphasis, and the brunette went silent again. Tatsuki had obviously managed to calm down a little from earlier, as there was now some shame in her expression, and she nodded her acceptance of her sensei's wishes.

The ex-shinigami turned her attention back to Rukia, who really did look like she was about to haul Ichigo out of there come what may.

"Where are you two headed; who are you going to be meeting?"

Rukia looked shocked for a moment, and then seriously annoyed and more than a little worried. Shaolin wasn't surprised; the girl probably thought she was dealing with a human who was horning in on her territory.

"I can't-"

"Tell you what: I'll go with you two and...help out. Maybe have a 'chat' with whoever it is over there..."

That froze the two teens on the spot, though Ichigo didn't look like he minded the idea so much.

Tatsuki _definitely_ looked like she thought it was a great idea.

Rukia, however...

"Uhm...that's not..."

"Oh my gosh!"

A red-headed student almost magically appeared in front of Shaolin, a wide smile plastered across her face.

"You must be Feng Shaolin, right?"

"_Oh gods, not another autograph-seeker..."_

Shaolin didn't think so, especially since there was a somewhat malicious and lustful gleam in the young woman's eyes.

"You're so cute!"

Before the ex-shinigami could even move, she found herself caught in a bear hug from the red-head.

"I mean, I heard all about you from Tatsuki-san, but you're just..."

It took a moment for Shaolin to get over the shock of another female publicly hugging her. It didn't help that she could see Tatsuki and Orihime's expressions turn into looks of complete disbelief. It also seemed to shock everyone else, as they all froze on the spot.

Rukia took that moment to start pulling Ichigo down the hallway, taking full advantage of the distraction. Even though he was obviously dragging his feet a little and looking back every couple of seconds, he went along with it.

Probably out of some sense of duty Rukia had installed in the boy.

Well, Shaolin would have something to say about that, as soon as she took care of this.

She could see that once again the look on Tatsuki's face was one of outrage, her jaw hanging open even as her body tensed and her fists began to get set to do...something that would probably get her in a great deal of trouble. Orihime began to half-bury her head in one hand even as she clasped the other on her friend's arm.

"You...you...!"

Chizuru stopped her talking and turned to face Tatsuki.

"You what...?"

That sent Tatsuki even more over the edge; now Shaolin could almost hear the sound of a tea kettle whistle around her young student.

It worried Shaolin; normally Tatsuki had excellent control of her emotions, but she was really flying off the handle here. The ex-shinigami wondered if maybe there was more than embarrassment going on, if the memory replacer had worked properly.

She'd have to talk to Tatsuki about it.

And Rukia...

Shaolin held up a hand to quiet Tatsuki, hoping that it would work; at the same time the assassin smoothly brought her other hand to Chizuru's shoulder.

"You're Honshou-san, aren't you?"

"Wow, you know my name?"

Shaolin nodded and leaned in to speak in the girl's ear.

"Inoue-san told me about you; how you do stuff like this to her. Well, don't do it to me..."

Chizuru looked at the ex-shinigami strangely; before she could respond, Shaolin gave a quick pinch in the right place, and the red-head tensed a moment before gaining a blank expression on her face. Even as confusion entered Tatsuki's face at the sight, her seeming arch-nemesis slid off of Shaolin and went to the floor in a heap.

Shaolin lowered both hands and gave her students a quick smile. Orihime gave a similar smile in return; she seemed to say 'Thank you' with her eyes. Tatsuki just stared at the scene for a moment, and then the rage just disappeared, to be replaced by a mixed loom of weariness and shame on her part.

Satisfied that a disaster had been averted, Shaolin quickly made her way down the hall, heading for...

Wherever Ichigo and Rukia were going.

* * *

><p>Authors Note: If you're all wondering what the 'Karakura Slasher' is, consider how Masaki's death would have looked to the local police force and evening news at the time. And in this timeline, they had a wonderful suspect...<p>

As for the harem thing near the end of this chapter – I have no intention of this becoming a harem-fic, though I might wind up playing off the concept's conceits. Otherwise, all the people here will either be in monogamous relationships or love triangles.

And as for answers to the reviews:

_Ability King KK_: Glad you liked the interactions between Ichigo and Sui-Feng (I was hoping I hadn't gone too overboard). As for what the woman's going to do to Rukia...well, that family name means Sui-Feng can't do anything _too_ overt...

_Nexus the 13__th_: Glad you liked the chapter. And thanks for pointing out the matter of Rukia's spiritual energy...that was a screw-up. While she may turn out to be secret nobility (Sode no Shirayuki just _doesn't_ look like the weapon of a peasant girl), you're right about Rukia being a Kuchiki by adoption. I've edited the chapter in that spot (just a couple of quick lines) to take care of that error; hopefully this won't happen again.

_HedonismBot_: Thanks for the praise on this chapter. I'm glad you liked the dream sequence; that was another of the places where I hoped I hadn't gone completely overboard. Sui-Feng is going to have a few things to say to Rukia, and not a whole lot of them good. And as for training Ichigo after the meeting with Byakuya...that's still a long way to go...a lot can happen in that time...

_Flower in the River_: Thanks for the praise. I'll try to keep up the good work as I go along.

_0o TheLadyLuna o0_: Glad you liked the story so far. I hope I continue to entertain you with it.


	9. A Bee in the Streets

Disclaimer: Bleach and all the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is being written merely for the enjoyment of myself and whoever happens to like it.

Reviews would be most welcome, as would constructive criticism. In the case of the later, you can be brutally honest, but please don't be abusive. And flames will be ignored.

There have been more Favorite Story and Story Alert arrivals; welcome aboard _DJay_, _Hunter 152_, _Aragaurn_, _GazerBlitz_, _cerokun,_ _sometimesafox, trinitybeing, Love Psycho, Victor M. Sarks, Obiki Doragon, Keiren-Kun89, _and_ manywheels_.

I'd like to thank all the people who've read this story, as well as the people who have bothered to review. It's very gratifying to see that people like my work and want to see more.

That said, I want to apologize again for the tardy update; I've been a little busy the last while, and it was a little difficult to come up with this chapter. I think I've got my act together again, though, so the next chapter shouldn't take anywhere near as long, though I'll prove _that_ when I submit it.

Considering that, I'll ask a crazy question: I wanted to ask everyone's opinion on me starting a second story. Not just whether you would like me to do it, but whether you consider the concept of working on two stories at the same time a good idea at all.

Anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope you all like it. If you have any major criticisms about it, just let me know.

* * *

><p>Shaolin was not in a good mood as she made through the streets of Karakura as quickly as she could. She looked around her and saw the people in the streets following her with their eyes, obviously wondering where she was going.<p>

Some, of course, had ideas. She could see some people shaking their heads, and pointing the way as they gave the assassin greetings.

She responded with only half her attention, as she had more important concerns.

At least now that he was a shinigami, it was almost pathetically easy to follow Ichigo around; he was about as subtle as a certain radioactive undersea dinosaur – for once Shaolin gave thanks that his reiatsu was so blinding – and the Kuchiki girl was no survivalist expert.

Add to that the fact that both of them seemed confident they were alone and undetected, and that they had other things on their mind, and Shaolin was pretty confident they weren't going to be noticing her even if she chose to get a few meters away.

They were headed due west, had been headed in that direction for the last few minutes at a good run. It was the only thing the young man and his 'escort' could do in the absence of shunpo.

It just irked her that she had to keep herself at a slower pace so as not to create a total scene; she had to live in this town, after all.

And as a result, they were moving well ahead of her.

Which was why she wasn't in a terribly good mood.

"_Why do you suppose she is running off to this location?"_

Shaolin shook her head.

"I don't know Hana, but I don't like it. Do you sense anything other than our 'friends'?"

There was a long pause, even as Shaolin continued to follow Ichigo's presence.

"_No, Shaolin...as far as I can tell, there are no Hollows in the area. And I do not sense Kuchiki-hime either, only Ichigo-san."_

Shaolin shook her head in disgust.

"She's in her gigai then... What the hell is she up to?"

The ex-shinigami could 'feel' Hana shaking her head.

"_The only thing I can think of is that she is taking Ichigo-san to a place where some Hollows will be appearing..."_

Shaolin decided not to think on that; she decided to concentrate more on catching up to the two of them.

She made her way across one street, down another, through one alleyway and across another street, wondering how the hell they were managing without getting totally confused. Shaolin knew this two; Ichigo couldn't know it as well, and Rukia almost certainly didn't.

It said some scary things about Soul Society's intel on the area. Shaolin made her way into another alleyway-

And then stopped cold at the sight before her.

"_Shaolin...? Shaolin, what is going on? Why have you stopped?"_

There was a part of the ex-shinigami's mind that did actually hear her friend's voice, that wanted to respond.

The same part of her recognized where and when she was – some small alleyway in Karakura, a place where things people didn't want to think about would be out of sight and out of mind.

It also recognized that it was incredibly stupid for her to stop someplace while Ichigo was being led off into danger by his 'friend'.

But that part wasn't in control right now because of what Shaolin was seeing on the ground in front of her, next to a trash bin...

"_Shaolin, what is going on?"_

This time the words snapped the ex-shinigami into the present. She took a moment to collect herself further before speaking and then sighed in defeat.

"I found Ichigo's body."

It was just laying on the ground with limbs splayed out, looking like some stray piece of litter its master didn't want. His expression was unreadable, his eyes staring blankly towards the brick building on the far end of the alleyway.

It was a scene reminded her of way too many in her existence here in the Living World, too many friends. The nightmare from the night before came back to her mind, sending a cold chill down her spine...

"_Is it dead?"_

Shaolin stood there for a moment longer, and then shook her head, now fully back in reality.

"No, I'm sure it's not...at least..."

The assassin knelt down to be nearer to the young man and hesitantly placed her hand on his shoulder; a little bit of relief entered her at the feeling of warmth under the gray cloth.

She moved her hand to his neck to feel for a pulse...waited...

Yes...yes it was there...

The ex-shinigami breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's still alive, Hana."

"_Good, now let us go after Ichigo-san and Kuchiki-hime."_

Shaolin nodded and some part of her thanked Kannon, and Buddha and...whatever other gods she could think of as she gently closed the young man's eyes and then stood up again.

She had been pretty sure he wasn't dead, that the body was just in a coma-like state, but it was good to know for sure.

It meant she hadn't failed Masaki...

At least not yet.

But even so...

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I never should have left, Hana. I could have kept this from happening..."

"_You did leave, and for good reason. And you do not know whether you could have done anything. So let us leave that for when we find out what happened."_

Shaolin nodded.

"I know, Hana. It's just... To think he's gotten to the point where he sees the body his mother gave him as an inconvenience..."

"She probably forced him into it."

"For an entire week? That's some guilt trip."

There was a pause, and then a breeze blew through the alley, carrying with it...

"I sense four Hollows nearby Shaolin."

The ex-shinigami nodded her head in understanding. She could feel it too, and 'smell' the rank odor of several of their kind nearby.

"Did they just gate in?"

She could almost sense Hana nodding.

"They...oh gods..."

Shaolin's heart sank and she cursed herself.

"Let me guess: while I was mooning over Ichigo, they had a light snack?"

"Yes...I am sorry..."

"Don't be; it's just something I'm going to have to get used to."

There was another pause, even as the ex-shinigami materialized Suzumebachi and readied the blade. She didn't have the reishi blade this time; she'd momentarily forgotten where she was now.

A war zone.

"There is another Plus headed here, they should be here in just a few seconds."

Shaolin nodded.

"Then I'll just have to make sure they stay extant."

She took one more look at Ichigo's body, and then started for the end of the alley. She didn't make it far when a female figure coming round the corner; it took a second, but Shaolin suddenly realized who she was dealing with.

And it turned her blood to ice.

"Yamada-san?"

The teenager's eyes went wide.

"Sensei?"

"Oh gods...that means the other Plus was..."

For a moment the teenaged spirit had a look of desperate joy on her face, but that turned to terror when they both heard the roar of a Hollow approaching. Yamada Rin turned her head to look down the street she had come from, screamed again, and then bolted down the alley towards Shaolin.

"Sensei, help me!"

Even as Rin raced towards the middle of the alley, Shaolin started forward again until she had managed to put herself between the girl and the entrance. A moment later, a hulking humanoid with a grinning bone mask made its appearance.

The creature stopped, sizing up the fact that it had another piece of prey to deal with, and Shaolin used the time to glance at Rin. the former high-school girl was scared out of her wits; she was shaking, tears streaming down her face as she tried to deny the reality of what was going on.

Shaolin hated seeing the girl like that, and she didn't like putting more pressure on the girl, but she needed confirmation.

"Yamada-san are you all right? Where's Ito-san?"

The two girls had almost never been apart that Shaolin could remember, and she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach when Rin stared bawling.

"They-they ate her sensei! Those monsters ate her...!"

Even as she absorbed the confirmation of her fears, Shaolin shook her head and tried to keep the bile from rising in her throat. Then she turned her attention back to the monster in front of them.

The Hollow finished its 'deliberating' and then roared once again before charging; Rin screamed even as Shaolin readied herself.

She wasn't worried about this one, it looked pretty stupid. Her thoughts were borne out by the fact that the thing stopped in front of her and raised its arms to swipe at her.

Even as it brought its hands down in a crushing swipe, Shaolin moved out of the way, and then grabbed hold of one to the thing's limbs. Using the monster's momentum against it, she pivoted and managed to throw the thing to the ground on its back.

Even as she materialized Suzumebachi in her hand, the ex-shinigami could hear Rin gasp in wonder. Before the Hollow could do anything, a strong swipe of the blade cut through the creature's neck. It made a strangling sound for a moment, and then dissolved before its component parts could separate.

She took a moment to look over the space the Hollow had been and then look over her blade before turning her attention towards Rin. The teenager was just standing there, trying to figure out whether to be relieved or simply continue to freak out.

Shaolin affected a reassuring tone, even as she kept her senses sharp; there were still Hollows in the area.

"Yamada-san, what happened?"

It took a moment for the girl to calm herself down enough to be able to start a conversation.

"W-we were just walking around, like we always do...we were talking about seeing the fireworks this year and..."

She started breaking down again.

"And then they came and we ran and they were chasing us and...and..."

"I'm sorry..."

Rin looked around randomly, likely trying to find security in the familiar solidness of the buildings around them.

And then she noticed the body sitting on the ground and her eyes went wide.

"Ichigo...?"

She approached the body and touched it, and Shaolin swore to herself as she saw the girl beginning to lose it again. Rin's eyes going wide and her jaw dropped as she looked to Shaolin for some kind of answer, and then she jumped again as they heard the roar of another Hollow, this time from higher up.

Shaolin sighed and tried to put an expression on her face that would be both reassuring and determined.

"Keep near me; I'll try to keep you safe."

Now there was a look of disbelief on Rin's face, and she was starting to back away.

"Sensei, what the hell is going on? I know you told us it was dangerous outside of Karakura, and I know other people have said stuff about those things but-"

The ex-shinigami sighed.

"I can't really explain right now, but I can try to help you out-"

The girl started to look angry, even as she continued to lose her composure.

"No...you knew how to fight these things, didn't you? Didn't you?"

"Yes..."

"Then why did you leave. Where were you when they...? Damn it, sensei, how could you?"

Shaolin didn't want to have this argument; she couldn't afford it right now.

"Yamada-san, please, let me help you-"

"No, you do what you want. I'm getting the hell out of here!"

She turned and started running further down the alleyway.

"Yamada-san, no!"

But the girl didn't listen; she continued to run down the hallway, and Shaolin was soon going after her.

"Rin, please!"

All she saw was the girl shaking her head violently as she ran, as she tried to just get away from the madness forming around her. Shaolin didn't blame her, but Rin didn't know the Hollows; the ex-shinigami started running after her, the walls flying past.

Only a few more meters-

"_Shaolin, stop!"_

Instinct caused the ex-shinigami to stop, even as Rin cleared the exit of the alleyway. The girl turned her head to the left, and then her whole body seemed to relax for a moment before something surged out and-

And Rin disappeared with a scream.

Shaolin froze; all she could do was watch as whatever it was pulled back across the front of the alley and vanished to where it came from. Above her, she could hear the cry of another Hollow and she noted the shadow made by a pair of winged...things flying overhead.

Yamada Rin and Ito Akane had been her students at the dojo before they'd been killed in a car accident. She still talked to them from time to time, still had bonds to them...

And now they were gone.

She'd failed them.

Just like she'd failed so many other people...

And Rukia and Ichigo were nowhere to be found.

For a moment more, she let the sorrow fill her, and then the assassin let it turn into rage. Rage at the Hollows who had done this; rage at herself for having let it happen.

And rage at Soul Society for allowing things to reach a state where such a thing could happen...

Shaolin let the rage wash away the sorrow and shame, and then tempered it. And then she ran out of the alleyway to see what had ended Rin's existence.

The girl was gone now, but she could be saved in a way; Shaolin spared a momentary glance at her zanpaktou. If she could just kill the Hollow that did that...

And then she'd nail the other Hollows here.

And then she'd go after -

She stopped short of the entrance, even as a massive something flashed out right in front of her. After a moment, she realized it was the neck and beaked head of a massive Hollow, which stayed where it was for a moment before retracting away.

The ex-shinigami followed the appendage to see a thing that resembled a turtle, armored shell supported by four thick legs. The neck continued to retract even as Shaolin watched, until it was sitting almost inside the front of the shell. A thrill went up her back as she saw the blood on its beak, and she got the idea that it too was smiling at her.

Up above, she could see the two bird creatures circling, waiting for their moment to attack.

"Good gods, is it just me, or these guys making up for lost time?"

"_Are you sure they are not after you?"_

That caused the ex-shinigami to pause for just a second.

"I hadn't thought about that... If they are, well...they're going to wish they hadn't met me."

There was a rumbling coming from the Hollow in front of her, and it took a moment for Shaolin to realize that the thing was laughing. It just made her blood boil even more.

"**Couldn't save your little friend, could you?"**

The assassin started, and then gave a strained smile.

"You can talk?"

"**'Course I can; that's why the boss put me in charge of this."**

The smile disappeared from Shaolin's lips.

"_I was just kidding about them being after you..."_

Shaolin doubted that, but she could imagine who these things might be with.

"You work for Grand Fisher, don't you?"

The Hollow waited for a moment.

"**Maybe...but I'm not gonna bother saying in specific, since you're not going to be around long enough to...what are you doing?"**

Shaolin finished removing the jacket she was wearing and laid it on the ground beside her. It was a little on the expensive side, and she could always get another t-shirt.

But that only barely registered in the assassin's mind.

Too much was happening too quickly.

Ichigo; Hollows; shinigami; hiding; death...

The death of friends in her home, at the hands of these idiots.

And she needed to get to Ichigo before he got killed by more of these idiots.

She had no time for anything other than quick vengeance, had no time or patience to try and pierce that thing's hide with Suzumebachi.

So she'd have to use something more drastic...

Even as Shaolin tempered her anger at these monsters, she gathered the power within her and silently thanked Kisuke for his ability to make specialty gigai. Many of them would have been torn up by what she was about to do, but this one wasn't so fragile.

"_Are you going to do what I think you are going to do?"_

Shaolin nodded, even as she could feel the Hollow grow uneasy. One of the flying ones was more twitchy, and dived down on her.

Even as the thing approached her from the air, Shaolin channeled the power through her free arm and let it take the form of white fire. The flames tore through the clothing on her arm, and then spread to her back and other arm; she only retained enough control over it to keep it from damaging her gigai seriously.

It was her will made manifest, and that will only wanted to destroy right now.

She turned her attention to the attacking Hollow, which had realized by now that it was in trouble and was trying to pull up.

"Too late."

She jumped up and pivoted in the air, dodging and then landing a blow with her foot on the thing's beak. The flame, concentrated raw spiritual energy, tore up the creature's head and along the length of its body.

Before it could even hit the ground, the Hollow was utterly consumed in the white 'fire'; the last dissolving bits falling like ash in front of a now terrified turtle-Hollow.

"**Hey...the boss didn't say you could do that!"**

"You know, I'm not not sure what makes me angrier..."

The Hollow looked at her.

"**What?"**

The ex-shinigami looked at the creature with a gaze she was sure had the same cold fire as was circling around her body.

"I'm trying to decide whether I'm more angry about Yamada-san and Ito-san getting done in by you, or the fact that you think for one instant that a group of idiots could take me on."

The Hollow just stood there, its mouth open in disbelief; she could feel that the other remaining monster wasn't sure what to do.

She decided to solve the one Hollow's problem; she raised her hand and pointed a finger at it.

"Hado #4: Byakurai!"

A bolt of lightning flashed from the outstretched finger, tearing through the heart of the flying Hollow, who then proceeded to fall to the ground with a thud.

"**Uhm...uhhh..."**

The turtle-Hollow started backing up, looking for all the world like the one she'd fought the day before. Like someone wanting to find an exit.

Shaolin just shook her head.

"You're not getting away from me."

Then she started running towards the Hollow. Its head shot out of its body like a serpent, hoping to catch her in its beak.

She dodged, and then rushed to its carapace. Even as it tried to move out of the way, the assassin jumped onto the shell and then ran up to the top, charging her power as she did. The thing craned its neck, turning its head towards her again, and Shaolin had to leap again as it tried to hurl its head at her again.

It didn't matter, though; the thing was dead as far as she was concerned.

She felt she was high enough now, and focusing her energy again, she drove her palm onto the thing's shell. The ex-shinigami released the energy, and felt a satisfied rush of power as the flame tore through the shell and made its way into the beast within.

The Hollow shook and made a choking sound; she was sure that the technique she used was disintegrating the thing's insides, and she made a point to look it in the eyes as the light began to die in its eyes.

But it still had enough strength to swing its head and neck around like a flail at her. She jumped out of the way and then onto the back of its neck, taking her zanpaktou and driving it through the back of the thing's head.

She used the sword as a means of holding on as the thing's head smashed into the building and then started to dissolve. As the thing went through its death throes, she pulled her blade free and then went back to the ground.

Then she watched as the massive beast collapsed in a heap on the ground.

"I hope you find peace, Hollow, wherever you end up."

The creature let out a death-cry even as its body began breaking up in a nimbus of white fire. It seemed to hold together for a moment through sheer force of will, and then it exploded in a spray of shards of vaporizing matter.

A moment later, and there was nothing left of it.

Shaolin closed her eyes for a moment.

"I hope you find peace as well, Yamada-san; I hope you liked the fireworks I made for you."

"_Shaolin, I hate to interrupt but...there is still one more Hollow left."_

The assassin turned towards the wounded flying Hollow, who was even now beginning to form a rift back to its own plane.

She thought about it for a moment as she powered down, thought about letting it go back and tell others of its kind to stay away from Karakura...

And then she saw the bits of pink on its beak

Her emotions rising again, she walked over to the thing that had obviously been Akane's executioner. As soon as she was standing over it, she held Suzumebachi blade-down over the thing.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The crippled thing managed to quiver a little before Shaolin drove the bled through its skull, and a moment later it had joined its companions as spiritual ash.

She closed her eyes in prayer.

"Find peace, Ito-san."

She stood there a moment more and opened her eyes and looked around.

No...no little girl in white...

Gods...she had enough problems to worry about...

"_Well, that was fun."_

The assassin sighed and dematerialized her zanpaktou as she went to get her jacket. She picked it up and put it on over her ruined shirt and began turning her attention to the problem of Ichi-

A loud cracking sound came from the building the turtle-Hollow had crashed into, and as she watched the structure began to sag into the gap between it and the next building...

Right where Ichigo's body was.

She swore as she ran back into the alley.

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Ignoring the sound and the plaster and mortar dust falling on her, she quickly made her way to the body. She hauled it up and threw one arm over her shoulders, and then started for the exit, grunting as she tried to drag the much larger body out of the way.

"C'mon...c'mon..."

She couldn't screw this up.

She couldn't fail Ichigo like she'd failed Rin and Akane just now.

A terrible sound came from behind her as the side of the building finally began to give way, bricks and wood falling down in a cascade of rubble onto the street.

Shaolin could feel the pressure of the debris behind her, knew she had to hurry.

Summoning what reserves of strength she had, she braced herself and then jumped the last few feet, even as the alleyway became buried.

The assassin lay there for a moment, trying to make sure she'd actually been successful at getting Ichigo...or at least his body...out of danger.

As far as she could tell, she had been.

"_Shaolin, what happened? Are you all right?"_

"Yeah, I'm fine...I just-"

Then she realized that she was on the ground, essentially being embraced by Ichigo's body.

She yelped as she felt her face flush, and then moved Ichigo off of her before sitting up.

She looked around, noticed that there was hardly anybody here, and breathed yet another prayer of thanks. She looked over to the body of the young man beside her, one that seemed all right, and started figuring out where to put him.

The episode did make her feel bad about teasing Ichigo and the others earlier, though; she'd have to apologize to them.

And she'd have to make sure Tatsuki in particular was all right.

* * *

><p><em>Thank you gods...Buddha...whoever, I don't care...<em>

_Thank you..._

_Thank you..._

Tatsuki couldn't help but almost chant the words in her mind as she braced herself on the sink counter top in the girls' bathroom. Her head was down, and she could see and feel the tears falling on the smooth surface, and she could also feel her knees trying to buckle. Her heart was racing, she was breathing like the atmosphere had almost been sucked out of the room, and...

And all she could think was that she was glad nobody had noticed the signs of the crippling fear that had overtaken her only a couple of minutes ago.

_Thank you..._

She'd just been trying to continue her lunch with Orihime on the rooftop, and trying to live down the humiliation of what had just happened in the hallway. Only two months in and she was going to branded for the rest of her time here, her and Orihime...

Damn it, why did sensei have to say something like that!

Of course, if she hadn't said it, someone else would have.

The anger helped drive a little of the fear away, helped give her a purchase on the yawning chasm that she felt she was about to fall into.

For that she was grateful.

But still it kept coming, kept pushing into her.

Tatsuki couldn't remember what exactly had set it off, what word or turn of phrase had caused her to melt down like this.

Or maybe it was a feeling, like someone she'd known had just died. She didn't know, didn't care...

She just remembered feeling this unyielding feeling of helplessness and horror surge through her, tearing through every last barrier of her soul like a tsunami, and leaving just a hollow shell of a woman behind.

Orihime had known something was wrong; they had that kind of bond. And she'd helped Tatsuki make her way to someplace private where...

...where she could have a proper breakdown, was what she was having.

_That would just be perfect for this day wouldn't it?_

_Gods, c'mon, please..._

She wanted to scream. She wanted to bawl and carry on like the ditz everyone kept calling Orihime.

But she was supposed to be tough; Arisawa Tatsuki never did stuff like that.

And yet she was sitting here, trying to keep from utterly going to pieces, her best friend standing guard outside the doorway.

Orihime was such a good friend; Tatsuki didn't deserve someone like that. At least, not the Tatsuki sitting here, crying and feeling vulnerable and...

What the hell was wrong with her?

It wasn't just her emotions getting out of hand. She could remember...

Nothing.

But something had happened.

She didn't know why, but it was making her cringe and she doubled up into another spasm of crying and gripping the sink for dear life.

There was so much of her that just wanted to run home, back to her room and her bed, or try to find her mother and be held tight in the woman's arms.

She was so scared.

If only she could pull herself together...

And then she felt something shift in her...and she began to feel herself stabilize a little. She could feel the crushing weight on her soul ease a little.

It wasn't much...but it was enough.

It was enough for her rational mind to begin to take control of her body again; her breathing began to become more regular, and she could feel her muscles loosen.

Even her hair began to lay back down; some part of her laughed at that idea.

In fact, as the fear finally began to subside like some evil tide, she was beginning to internally laugh a little at the idea that she had been that scared after all.

She waited another minute or so, and began using some of the meditation exercises she'd learned from Feng-sensei to continue calming herself down; she was pleased when she found they were working now. She'd been so scared before...

The memory of an emotion was still there, though; the memory of being at the mercy of...someone. And the feeling...

The feeling that Ichigo and Rukia had had something to do with it.

It was crazy...and it wasn't even something she could articulate in words...but...

She shook her head to get back into the present time. She'd worry about those two and Orihime later; she had a life, more particularly the second half of the school day, to get through. And there was helping Orihime move.

As soon as she had relaxed enough to know she didn't need something else's support, Tatsuki threw some water on her face to take off some of the sweat she knew was on it. Then she looked at herself in the mirror.

She had to give herself a wry smile; she looked like hell. Not physically, of course; she pulled at her clothes a little to straighten them and patted her hair a little and that part was taken care of.

It was the look in her eyes.

She looked tired, like she'd just had the battle of her life. And they looked...a little older...a little more worn...

She sighed and shook her head. She was going to have to figure out what had happened the night before, something she found annoying as hell. But there was no way around it; either do that or go nuts the next time she had an attack like that.

And for some reason she could feel that she would have another panic attack like that.

Tatsuki did not like that idea.

She gathered what she could of her wits and started out the door; she figured Orihime would be seriously worried about her by now.

And Tatsuki was proven right when she came out into the hall and her friend snapped to from her 'post' beside the door.

Orihime plastered a smile on her face, the same happy-go-lucky one she usually had, but her eyes still betrayed concern, if not outright fear.

"How are you, Tatsuki?"

The brunette took a moment to think about it.

"I don't know...but I'm better now, thanks."

Orihime's smile brightened a little, and she nodded.

"That's good, we'd better get back to class; lunch period's going to be over pretty soon."

"Need an escort?"

Both young women turned at the sound of the voice. Ishida Uryuu was standing not far from them, quietly observing them from the end of the hall.

It kind of creeped Tatsuki out to see him; she was sure he hadn't been there a moment before.

And the way he was looking at her and Orihime...

Actually, mostly at Tatsuki.

She shook herself out of her unease. She knew Uryuu; maybe he'd grown distant from the old days, but it wasn't like he was a bad person.

Just a little odd.

It was obvious that he was waiting for an answer, though, and so Tatsuki affected a smug smile.

"You checking me out or something? A little late..."

Some part of Tatsuki was insulted when the young man in front of her just huffed his disdain at the idea.

"Hardly; you're not exactly my type."

_You could have fooled me back in the day..._

Orihime looked a little uneasy at the exchange. Maybe it was from having seen her friend in a bad mental state, but she cleared her throat to gain Tatsuki and Uryuu's attention.

"I wouldn't mind having you take us back to class, Ishida-san."

Uryuu smiled and Tatsuki could see it was more genuine this time.

"I'd be glad to, Inoue-san."

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow.

"Serious, Uryuu, why all the interest in us all of a sudden?"

"What do you mean?"

Tatsuki shook her head at his quiet mock-innocence as they started for the classroom.

"You've been avoiding us because of your dad all these years-"

"Father has nothing to do with this."

Tatsuki nodded her head, and then something occurred to her, something which softened her expression.

"Did you want something...like maybe get-"

"No."

Now Tatsuki was annoyed; Uryuu hadn't been sharp in his dismissal, but still...

"Then what's your game?"

The young man seemed to take a moment to choose his words.

"Let's just say things are getting pretty interesting around here, and that you two would be wise to stay away from Ichigo and new 'friend'."

The brunette's eyes widened at the name.

"What do you know about-?"

Uryuu held up a hand to stop her.

"Not very much; just enough to know you should just let them do whatever. Just let him go..."

The last of Tatsuki's fear disappeared at the words, to be replaced with a rising anger.

"Let him go. Like you let _us_ go...?"

A small smile played on Tatsuki's face at the slight look of shame that came over Uryuu's. Then the mask was back and he was his calm, collected self again.

"Whatever. I just wanted to let you know. I can't do anything about it...I'm not _allowed_ to to anything about it...but for your sakes' just stay away from the two of them. It'll only lead to trouble."

For just a moment Tatsuki thought about answering, but they were getting into more crowded halls and she didn't want discussions like that becoming part of the rumor mill.

She'd be having enough trouble living down-

"Hey, there's some of Ichigo's girls!"

Equal parts shame and rage flooded through Tatsuki at the words, and Uryuu's slight smile didn't help. Orihime seemed to be all right with it, though seeing as how that was what she wanted in the first place...

Still, some part of Tatsuki wanted to know what was going on. She knew Uryuu had been into something with his grandfather years before, and so he probably knew more about what was going on.

Maybe he knew who this Kuchiki Rukia woman was.

She sighed and shook her head to clear it; she had to worry about class now and other stuff later. At least all this had taken her mind off of her earlier fear.

Though now she was fearful for Ichigo.

She wondered what he had gotten himself into...

* * *

><p>Shaolin sighed as she continued to run in the direction of where Rukia and Ichigo had gone. She'd stashed Ichigo's body in another hiding spot near the now-ruined alley; that had allowed Ichigo and Rukia to get even father ahead of her.<p>

Now she was trying to make up for lost time, but her thoughts still went to Rin and Akane.

"I was going to take those girls to the fireworks if I got back early enough from my trip..."

"_And now they are gone. Well, at least you were able to sublimate the Hollows; Yamada-san and Ito-san's souls will be moving on at least."_

The ex-shinigami didn't say anything. Hana was right; she had to think that if she hadn't come back early from her trip, the two Pluses would have been simply consumed and then sent off to Hueco Mundo.

The best they could hope for there was to become part of a Menos, and wander what Hana had said was just empty desert for the rest of eternity...

So there had been at least a small victory today.

Shaolin had to think of it that way; she'd go mad if she thought otherwise.

But she hated it...

It was the kind of thinking she other places, not here, and she was already falling into it.

"Karakura isn't going to be the same, is it Hana?"

The mod soul waited a moment before saying anything.

"_Actually, it is merely going back to normal, Shaolin. What we have been experiencing for the last while has been the anomaly."_

Shaolin nodded her head in understanding.

"Which means I'm going to have to do what I can to fight those things until...well, whenever..."

"_That is not your job, Shaolin..."_

"No, that is Kuchiki-hime's job, isn't it? After all, she is the appointed guardian of Karakura...at least for the next little while. 'Don't worry folks, she'll take care of everything...'"

She could just feel Hana nodding her 'head'.

"_With 'help' from her handsome assistant, of course."_

Shaolin sighed.

"Gods, Hana...Kisuke-san's right, isn't he? I have become bitter and cold, haven't I?"

"_We both have good reason to feel that way about what just happened. Yamada-san may have been like that, but you are not going to get a morality lecture from me."_

"Thanks, Hana."

Shaolin took a moment to center herself, even as she was running, and then turned her attention back to the issue at hand.

"Still no Hollows?"

There was a long pause.

"_Other than the ones we just fought? No, but Ichigo-san and Kuchiki-hime have stopped somewhere, so I assume that is where the Hollow will be coming from."_

The ex-shinigami nodded; she could feel the subtle shift in Ichigo's reiatsu that said he was more or less at rest. She started to slow her pace a little; there was no need to burst in on them, and it would make sure she wasn't completely winded from her run.

After just earlier, she was ready for anything to happen.

"_Are you going to help them?"_

Shaolin almost stopped at that one; she took a moment to think.

"How about we see what happens, Hana."

"_You mean you are curious about how Ichigo-san handles himself as one of your kind?"_

Shaolin thought about that for a moment.

"...Maybe... Maybe I just want to see a little of the dynamic between those two before I do anything. You always see a person's true self when they're under stress..."

There was another pause.

"_True... And I suppose you have reason to be concerned. After all, they call each other by their given names..."_

The ex-shinigami sighed and shook her head.

"Please don't remind me. I can understand Ichigo, but Kuchiki-hime...?"

"_I am seeing your point. This could be very complicated if that turns out to be what-"_

Shaolin held up a hand as she spoke.

"Let's not go on with that line of thought unless we have to, okay? I've got enough on my plate right now."

"_Agreed."_

By now, her senses were being totally blinded again; she was getting close to where Ichigo and Rukia were.

They were entering some slightly run-down part of Karakura; the buildings featured chipped plaster and cracked windows, and there was plenty of trash and weeds in the road and alleyways. She even saw the occasional boarded up window or sign saying a house or building had been condemned

It made the assassin shake her head; this would have never happened a decade or two ago, but with the economy the way it was...

At least there would be the small favor of no one seeing what was going on. Especially with...

"I can't believe she's going into battle in a gigai..."

There was a pause as Shaolin began to slow down. The assassin didn't want her quarry to see her.

"_Maybe she will stay back from the fighting?"_

Shaolin shook her head.

"Then why wasn't she guarding Ichigo's... Why wasn't she someplace safe? It kind of defeats the purpose of the ritual, doesn't it?"

"_That it would... And she cannot be much of a kidou-user; she would have tried to heal Inoue-san and Arisawa-san."_

Shaolin just sighed in frustration.

"No, she has the look of a sorceress; I mean, just the 'feel' of one... I'll explain later, if you ask me when we're not occupied like this."

There was a pause.

"_So you mean she _intentionally_ left the girls like that?"_

"It would fit; the exalted members of the Gotei 13 don't care much about 'the little people'."

There was a long pause now; Hana was probably realizing that she was straying into a bad subject, and the thought made Shaolin feel a little bad. She didn't like the idea of a wall like that between her and her friends even when there was no denying it.

"Maybe she's just a block-head, then..."

Shaolin hoped the words would mollify the gikongan, and then turned her attention to where she was going.

"_Or maybe she never had much power to begin with. Maybe Ichigo-san with all his faults and inexperience is a better shinigami than she is."_

Shaolin stopped for a moment.

"You know, I didn't think about that. That's a sad statement, but it might be true."

Filing that thought away, she continued on again and made her way slowly down a narrow street, trying as much as possible not to disturb anything that would make a loud noise.

"How much longer are we going to have to wait, Rukia? … I mean, we've got to be back to school in not too much longer..."

Shaolin's ears pricked at the sound of Ichigo's voice. There was a short pause.

"Just what I said, Ichigo; it won't be here for a few more minutes-"

"_How would she know...?"_

There was a short groan, and Shaolin could just imagine Ichigo throwing his hands up in the air.

"Yeah, right...whatever..."

Another pause as the ex-shinigami made her way towards the edge of the alleyway she was in.

"What do you mean by that?"

Shaolin managed to make it to the end of the brick building and carefully looked into the space beyond. It was an abandoned lot, several decaying buildings surrounding what had been probably a strip mall or office complex.

Standing in the middle of the place was Ichigo in his full shinigami regalia, sword in hand like some ridiculous anime character, and glaring at Rukia like he wanted to pound on her but couldn't quite bring himself to do so.

Rukia was standing next to him, her arms crossed and a defiant look in her eyes as she glared back at Ichigo...

And she was in her gigai.

The very sight made Shaolin groan inwardly, even as she saw Rukia slowly losing patience with the young man in front of her.

"Well?"

Ichigo took a moment to gain some more control over himself and then locked eyes with her.

"Rukia, have you been trying to run some kind of scam on me?"

The words took the small shinigami completely by surprise; her jaw dropped a little and her eyes widened, first in shock and then in stunned outrage.

Shaolin had to admit she felt the same way, though without the outrage part.

Now she definitely wanted to stay hidden, at least until this conversation was finished.

Rukia managed to pull herself together enough to answer, though she was still shaken.

"A scam?"

"Yeah, you've been trying to con me the last week, haven't you?"

He proceeded to plant his blade tip first into the ground and cross his arms over his chest.

"You've been having me hunt these Hollows for the last week, and instead of help, you've been just standing there letting me do your job for you."

Shaolin felt her teeth grind a little at the young man's words.

"You know why you have to do it!"

Ichigo arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, right, you lost your powers when you gave them to me a week ago..."

The ex-shinigami stopped when she heard that. It was Hana who gave voice to her thoughts.

"_What did he just say?"_

For just a moment, Shaolin considered the idea, and then scrapped it.

There was no way something like that could happen, none that she knew or had heard of anyway...

She turned her attention back to the pair in the lot; Rukia seemed to have gotten herself together, though she still looked shaken.

"I'm telling you the truth, Ichigo; if it weren't for this, I wouldn't be here messing around with your friends."

Ichigo didn't look like he believed that, and Shaolin didn't blame him.

She didn't believe the girl, either.

"That's all you've been _doing_ is messing around!"

He pointed to the zanpaktou next to him.

"You're having me do this job for you, but you never train me, never show me how to use this sword-"

Rukia gained an irritated tick in one brow.

"Zanpaktou. Call it by it's proper name."

The young man threw up his hands.

"What's the difference?"

Rukia looked mildly outraged at the question.

"A zanpaktou is more than just 'a sword', Ichigo. It's a part a shinigami; a part of their soul... You wouldn't understand..."

She was shaking her head, even as Ichigo continued to glare at her.

"Well, maybe I would understand if you'd talk to me a little."

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"You're about as bad as obasan, sometime; keeping things from me, never trusting me enough to handle anything..."

Shaolin stopped short at that.

"Ichigo..."

Rukia looked like she was thinking on the matter for a little bit, and then she sighed and looked a little away.

"Look, Ichigo...I know this is kind of a pain for you...and I know this is my fault."

She looked back at the young man, gaze firm but not hard.

"But I think you hate me more than you hate this job, don't you?"

Ichigo didn't say anything, instead just looking uneasy for the first time in the conversation.

"You like protecting people...you like helping them, both before and after death. And though I know you don't want to admit it, you feel you're doing more good now than when you were a human."

Ichigo didn't say anything, but his eyes showed he was starting to agree with her.

"But it isn't right, Rukia. I'm not dead...or at least I hope I'm not dead; I shouldn't be a shinigami yet..."

Rukia lowered her head, a somber look on it.

"Yeah, I know. And I'm sorry about that. But, right now, we're stuck with this. And besides, isn't this a better way than handing toys to dead children, _hoping_ that will allow them to pass on?"

Ichigo looked like he didn't know what to think, and the emotion was mirrored in Shaolin's soul.

"Shaolin..."

"Damn it, Hana...I've only been trying to help the boy. I mean...I know I'm not human, so I don't know exactly what would be expected of me..."

"Shaolin-"

The ex-shinigami shook her head.

"I can be overbearing sometimes, but-"

"It is for the good of the boy?"

"Yeah...maybe I'm...maybe I'm wrong...maybe I should have told him everything when he was younger..."

"And maybe you are getting snowed like your godson there."

Shaolin froze yet again in the alleyway.

"What?"

The was a pause, and she could feel Hana smiling at her, and not in a good way.

"You know, Ichigo-san should have been your child; the two of you are so alike sometimes. I was originally going to say that Kuchiki-hime seems to be quite the actress, but she seems to have fooled you as well."

Shaolin didn't know what to say. She looked over to where the two teens were and...

Yes, she could see just the trace of a smile on the younger girl's lips.

"Now that you feel properly humbled, what are you going to do?"

Shaolin just waited a moment, even as she felt some emotion...rising up in her...

It was only with great difficulty that she managed to suppress what she realized was outrage, even as she saw Rukia's expression turn to one of curiosity.

"Ichigo, there's something I want to ask you."

The boy arched a wary eyebrow.

"What?"

The young shinigami gained a dangerous look in her eyes.

"May I ask what your obasan meant when she mentioned a 'harem', and included me in it?"

Ichigo's eyes widened and he looked like he wanted to stall for a minute. Then just sighed in defeat; now he looked like a condemned man resigning himself to his sentence.

"It kind of has to do with girls; a harem's-"

"I know what they are, Ichigo; I'm not completely ignorant. I just want to know...are you romantically involved with those two?"

Ichigo's eyes just bugged out.

"Orihime and Tatsuki? No way! They're just-"

Rukia crossed her arms and just looked at him slyly.

"A couple of pretty girls you know...I'm sure..."

"Damn it, Rukia, this isn't funny!"

The girl managed a chuckle.

"It seems that way to me."

The young man pointed at her.

"You're going to have to live with that too, you know! Being one of 'my girls'! Or are you just going blank their memories like everyone else?"

Rukia made a show of thinking about that for a moment.

"I don't know, it is a big school..."

Then Ichigo seemed to think of something and began smiling.

"Maybe I should tell everybody about what's been going on at home. I mean, if my rep's trashed, I might as well go all the way..."

Now it was Rukia's turn to go wide-eyed, a sentiment shared by Shaolin.

"You wouldn't dare! You-!"

"I get the idea they bicker like this all the time, do you not?"

All Shaolin could do was nod as she tried to think of what Isshin would say.

Or Masaki, for that matter...

Then it didn't matter, for she could see a rift begin to open in the sky. The two teens suddenly stopped their sniping at each other and turned towards the opening, Ichigo grabbing his sword and readying it.

Shaolin braced herself as well; she hoped she wouldn't need to help the young man, but if it came to that...

A being materialized from wherever the rift directly led to, a humanoid Hollow with a long tail, who let out the almost obligatory roar of challenge.

Shaolin nodded her head; if Ichigo had survived this long, he'd probably be able to handle this one. It irked her that Rukia appeared to not be doing anything other the watching herself.

The assassin hoped the girl was going to do more than stare the thing to death.

But that didn't matter right now; Shaolin waited for the rest of the monsters that would be coming forth...

And then the rift closed.

Shaolin froze, even as she saw Ichigo launch himself at the beast. And then she turned her attention to Rukia...

"One Hollow."

"_What was that?"_

Shaolin had to restrain the instinct to walk right up to the Kuchiki girl and slap her in the face. It would have only distracted Ichigo from the fight, which she could see was going...

Well, he wasn't horrible.

The creature made a downward lunge and swipe at Ichigo, but the young man was too fast and managed to leap over the attack. He swung his sword back over his head for a killing blow on the thing's mask, and Shaolin had to wince at how open Ichigo was leaving himself.

"Gods, you've got to be kidding me..."

"_He is that bad?"_

The creature could see the attack and swung its tail at Ichigo, causing him to divert his blade to use as a shield. It held, but now he was knocked by the force of the blow right into a wall; a cloud of dust and debris exploded from his point of impact.

Shaolin had to keep herself from crying out. She had to remind herself that Ichigo was a shinigami now; the Hollow was a problem, crashing into inconvenient buildings wasn't.

"_Shaolin?"_

"Come on, Ichigo, what is that?"

Shaolin turned her gaze at Rukia, wishing she could send the girl into her next incarnation through glare-power alone. It didn't matter that some part of Shaolin agreed with Rukia; he shouldn't be in this mess in the first place.

And it didn't help that Rukia wasn't doing anything other than stand there on the battlefield like an idiot; she was serving as a distraction at best, and not for the Hollow.

For his part, Ichigo didn't seem that phased. Even as the Hollow made its way towards where Ichigo had landed, the newly-made shinigami just picked himself up and literally dusted himself off.

"Shut up, Rukia! Like you're doing any better!"

That seemed to quiet the girl, even as the Hollow let out a roar of challenge.

Ichigo merely looked at the thing, kept his eyes on the tail, and waited for the creature to make its move.

The thing launched the tip of its tail at him, trying to spear Ichigo. He in turn just ducked to one side as the appendage flew past, and then raised and brought down his zanpaktou.

The massive blade sliced through the Hollow's tail with only a minimum of difficulty, severing a half that quickly dissolved. The Hollow roared out in pain and dismay, and Ichigo took the time to duck its now-frenzied swipes at his head.

Bringing his sword back – he wasn't making himself quite as open this time – he swung again and tore through the thing's mask, shattering it in a spray of bone fragments.

The Hollow made one last howl of pain, and then vaporized into nothingness, leaving only Ichigo and Rukia on the field.

"_So...how did our boy do?"_

Shaolin took a few moments to think about it, even as she saw Ichigo dusting himself off and sheathing his sword. Even though he'd been annoyed with his 'partner' earlier, the assassin could see the hint of a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

She didn't have a problem with that kind of attitude; he had done something most people couldn't.

Still, she sighed at the sight.

"He's still 'alive'..."

"_Well that is good."_

"Not good enough, though. Well, it's time to put an end to this."

She could feel Hana shaking her 'head'.

"_And just when I thought we could get some help for this area."_

"Later."

Even as Ichigo was sheathing his blade and walking towards Rukia, Shaolin came out of her hiding place clapping her hands together in exaggerated fashion. The sight of it made the two teens turn wide-eyed heads towards her.

"Obasan... What the hell are you doing here?"

The ex-shinigami stopped clapping her hands and looked carefully at her godson.

"I'm here because _you're_ here. What are _you_ doing here?"

"Well, I..."

Ichigo gesticulated wildly as he tried to come up with some decent explanation. Then he wound up pointing at Rukia, who shrunk back a little.

"She dragged me here!"

"I needed you to come with me!"

Rukia turned her ire at her older counterpart.

"And what _are_ you doing here anyway? This isn't your fight, so just-"

By now, Shaolin was standing in front of Rukia and enjoying the fact that she _could_ look down on the girl. She leaned forward just a little, causing Rukia to look a little uneasy.

"This _is_ my town, and this _is_ my fight, little woman. And I'm a certified adult person; I can go anywhere I want any time I want."

She pointed at one and then the other of the teens.

"You two are the ones who are supposed to be in school."

Rukia sounded like she wanted to argue about that, but she seemed to decide against it.

"This is more important; there was a Hollow-"

"I saw it."

Shaolin pointed back they way they had all come.

"There were four more back there, who you for some reason missed."

She decided not to mention Rin and Akane; this would all be over for Ichigo soon, and she felt she could offer him this small mercy.

Still, Ichigo looked stunned and disturbed at the news, while Rukia arched an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm glad you took care of th-"

"There was a matter with Ichigo's body, though..."

Now the young man's jaw seemed to drop off its hinges as his eyes bugged out.

"My body! What happened to it?"

Shaolin let him hang for a moment, noticing the venomous look he gave to Rukia. For her part, the young shinigami looked more than a little startled.

"I thought we left it in a suitable location..."

"Yeah, you did. But the battle with the Hollows kind of banged up the area...and banged up your body, Ichigo."

Now the young man looked truly horrified.

"_OBASAN!_"

Shaolin could almost hear Hana giggling.

"_You are very cruel, do you know that?"_

She waited a moment more, letting the two teens stew a bit, and then she smiled and shook her head.

"Your body is all right, Ichigo; I took care of it. I'll show where I put it in a minute."

The young man processed that, and then visibly relaxed.

Shaolin turned her attention to Rukia, and fixed her with a cold gaze.

"Now let me try this again... Why have you brought this young man, who I care a great deal for, into this conflict of yours. He has no experience, he is not even dead, and you seem to be a perfectly fit shinigami. And yet you seem to be content just standing around on the field of battle like some innocent bystander while he does your job for you.

"Why is this?"

Rukia looked like she was trying to keep up her appearance of being in control, but out here where it was just the three of them she looked like she was having a hard time of it.

Ichigo started to move forward.

"Obasan, it's-"

"Ichigo, shut up! We don't have to tell her anything!"

The young man stopped at Rukia's outburst; apparently she'd regained a little of her composure.

"Rukia, maybe she can-"

"I don't care. She's not a shinigami; what would she know about this?"

"_A lot more than you two might think..."_

Shaolin ignored Hana's comment and tried to keep her smile intact; she was beginning to get tired of this girl, but she really didn't want to explode.

It would cause too much embarrassment.

"I'm sure I can help. You said earlier that you lost all your powers somehow?"

Rukia's demeanor changed now; apparently she figured out that she was going to be treated with kid's gloves.

"No. I don't need to tell you anything-"

"Rukia!"

The young noblewoman gained an annoyed look on her face; she walked over to her taller companion and then slapped him upside the head.

Shaolin flinched as if she'd been hit herself, and then she stared putting on something she'd brought along: a black, fingerless glove.

"Be quiet, Ichigo; this is between the two of us!"

Now Ichigo started looking angry at her.

"No Rukia, I've had enough."

He pointed to Shaolin.

"I want to get her involved, whether you like it or not."

Now Rukia was the one who looked like she'd been slapped. It lasted only a moment, then her expression turned to one of outrage.

"How dare you?"

She slapped him upside the head again, and something snapped in Shaolin.

The ex-shinigami suddenly decided that maybe she could stomach having to fight Byakuya or Ginrei after all.

Ichigo was worth it.

"I've been nice en-"

Before the girl could finish, Shaolin came before the Kuchiki scion and grabbed the girl by her school uniform. Rukia and Ichigo looked at her with stunned surprise and then horror as the assassin then pulled back one of her fists as though she were going to punch Rukia in the face.

"Obasan!"

"Be quiet, Ichigo! This girl has no right to treat you like that; you're better than her."

Rukia at least had the composure to look slightly outraged.

"What do you mean?"

Shaolin smiled at her, a smile that made Rukia turn pale again.

"I don't have to tell you that. And I want to see who I'm really dealing with."

She opened the fist she had, showing the flaming skull pattern on the inside of the glove, and Rukia's eyes went even wider with horror.

The girl looked over to Ichigo, who was looking very uneasy.

"Obasan, maybe you shouldn't-"

Before he could finish, Shaolin rammed her palm onto Rukia's head. A bright flash of blue-white light surrounded the point of contact, spread through the body, and then a moment later Rukia's spirit form flew back out of the gigai.

"No!"

"Rukia!"

Ichigo leaped over to grab Rukia's spirit form as it came flying out of her gigai. The girl had too much momentum to stop from falling, but Ichigo did manage to catch her and cushion the fall.

Even as he began to pick himself and Rukia up, Shaolin's eyes widened at the sight of the girl's spirit form; the gigai fell out of the assassin's hands and went to the ground like a forgotten sack of vegetables.

Rukia was clad only in a white kimono, an obvious undergarment to the robes of a shinigami; her zanpaktou was nowhere to be seen on her. As Ichigo helped her into a sitting position, the last of Rukia's composure left her; she made herself into a ball by hugging her knees, and then looked at Shaolin hatefully.

But with the outrage in Rukia's eyes, there was also a sense of defeat; she looked like a condemned woman awaiting her judgment in a prison cell.

And that thought activated memories of the old days.

Shaolin had seen shinigami like this, in this state, criminals who had...

Her eyes widened and she looked at Ichigo, who was trying to comfort Rukia.

"She...wasn't lying earlier, was she? You really did strip her of her powers...?"

Ichigo took a moment to pat Rukia's hair a little, and then turned a serious gaze at the assassin.

"Yeah, obasan...I...I did...I guess..."

Shaolin took one more look at Rukia, and her jaw dropped as she felt her world start to cave in as thoroughly as Rukia's must have.

"Well, how the hell did _that_ happen?"

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: I'm hoping the section with Rin wasn't too graphic (I'm pretty sure it isn't, seeing as how the manga has Hiyori being cut in half on-camera at one point), I just wanted to show that not every battle should be a victory, especially with an enemy as vicious as the Hollows.<p>

It also occurred to me that, if she's been staying in Karakura for a while, Shaolin would have probably become known and friends with a number of the spirits there. The idea that she'd know some of them by name doesn't sound too outrageous to me.

The use of shunko by Shaolin may have been a little extreme, but I wanted to showcase it for a moment, and I don't think it's physically impossible; it is cannon fact that a shinigami can use kidou magic while in their gigai (Rukia in her fight with Shrieker), and shunko uses the same principles. And this is one of Kisuke's gigai; I'm sure he'd be able to come up with something special for her if needed.

I showed Tatsuki having a breakdown because, believe it or not, it's part of the process of giving her powers (although, it may also just be bad writing...). I believe I figured out how the Hougyoku gave cannon Orihime, Chad and Ichigo their powers while leaving cannon Tatsuki alone (sadly, if I'm right, cannon Tatsuki will never get powers of her own).

And finally, I know I kept saying Shaolin didn't want to do anything to Rukia because of her name, but there is a little bit of an out. Rukia, who is a Kuchiki by adoption, is messing with Ichigo, who is a Shiba by _birth_; technically, I would think he has higher status than her. So Shaolin might be able to use the thin excuse of helping a higher noble against a lower one (the Shibas are only out of power for the moment; if they ever get back into power...).

* * *

><p><em>EVA-Saiyajin<em>: I know you sent two reviews, but I'm going to answer both at the same time; I hope you don't mind. Anyway, you're right about Rukia having softened her character over the course of the canon series; at the time these chapters are being set, Rukia was being pretty cold and bossy to Ichigo. She will change in this story, though; she just needs to be cut down to size a little (and there's the fact that she has a different set of influences in this time-line). As for the matter with Tatsuki and Uryuu, that has to do with Shaolin's past in this story.

_Ability King KK_: Glad you liked the chapter. I did go a little crazy there, but apparently it wasn't completely overboard and I'm glad of that.

_The Fifth Horseman_: Thanks for the review, and don't feel nitpicky; I like hearing other people's opinions of my work, and I appreciate an honest critique. In fact, I very much like reading your reviews of my work; don't hesitate to say what you feel about it. I'm a beginner, still trying to figure out my strengths and weaknesses, and any criticism or comments are more than welcome from anyone who wants to give them.

As for your concerns – Orihime's listening device was a little over the top, wasn't it? Then again, I have a reason for that; I'll probably want to do a little revision later to make it less of a 'hammerspace' issue. And as for the matter of the first scene with Shaolin – actually, after going over it again, I think you're right about it being 'off'; I'm going to try to be more careful about that in the future and I'm also keeping that in the files for if and when I do a re-write.

_Oo TheLadyLuna oO_: Thank you. I hope you've liked this chapter as well.

_GazerBlitz_: Welcome aboard and thanks for the review. Like I've mentioned above, Rukia's a little OOC for a reason; this is an AU, after all... :)

_Love Psycho_: Thank you for the cupcakes. (They were delicious :) And I'm glad you like some of the ideas and I hope you also enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I handled Shaolin's discovery of Rukia's situation fairly well (I'm still something of a beginner), though next chapter is when we really get to see just how bad the situation is...

_Obiki Doragon_: Thanks for the constructive criticism; a couple of other people mentioned they found my story kind of confusing, but you're the first to offer specifics. I'll try to watch for the viewpoint changes, and I hope I did better this time. Hopefully, I can convince you (through future writing) to make this story a Favorite :)

_Keiren-Kun89_: Thanks for the review, and your charity. And thanks for the constructive criticism: I'm beginning to think I overdid it with the flashbacks a bit myself; I'll try to tone it down some. As for what Rukia thinks of Shaolin...they're going to be spending some quality time together, so they'll get to know each other quite well.


	10. A Bee has a Chat

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and _Shonen_ _Jump_. This fanfic is not being written for profit, but simply out of a desire to put some creativity demons to rest.

Reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. In the case of the later, be brutally honest, but don't be abusive. Flames will be ignored.

I see new people in the Story Alert and Favorite Story categories: welcome to _Dragons of Egypt_; _thisisCMpunk_; _HopingFate_; _Shin-Revan_; _inuyouko_; _Nucule_; _SSA Ruth Leland_; _HyperionTheWatcher_; _Paddy O'Shay_, _the1990surge_,_ The light of darkness_,_ kero545 _and_ Zeta Ridley_. I'd also like to thank _crossxavier_ for putting me on Favorite Story status.

Well, with this one it's ten chapters and 100,000+ words. I have, at the time of this posting, 50 Story Alerts, 37 Favorites, and almost 7,200 hits to this story. I'm not sure how that stacks up to some other stories, but it makes me feel good about myself and this effort.

Anyway, I hope everyone has liked the trip so far, because I have more planned on the way.

And one other thing: someone asked if this is an Ichi/Soi fic; I'm sorry to say it isn't, or at least I don't plan for it to be one. Sorry for anyone who's disappointed.

I'd also like to mention that there are some flashbacks here, but I think in this case they're somewhat necessary.

Now here's the next chapter, and I'll be waiting to see what people think of it. (Hopefully it won't disappoint... :)

* * *

><p><em>Kuchiki Rukia could only shake her head as she stood on the...'electricity pole' – the term sat strangely in her mind. It was just as odd as some of the things that she'd seen here in the Living World, but it was only a minor oddity, a bit of novelty. Karakura otherwise looked depressingly bland and boring to the young shinigami.<em>

Just the kind of place 'brother' would have 'advised' my taichou to send me to.

After all, wouldn't want to get scratches on my 'porcelain skin'...

_Still, there was an excitement beginning to rise in the young shinigami's breast. Despite the bland appearance of the place, her taichou had stressed the importance of her job, of what doing well here might mean to her future._

_And now that she was here..._

_If this worked out, it'd be the launching pad for her career._

_She'd be able to show everyone what she was capable of, what she could do when given a decent chance..._

_The roar of a Hollow sounded in the distance._

_Rukia nodded her head in acknowledgment._

_This was going to be it. And no one was going to screw up her existence this time._

_Not even the man she was forced to call 'brother'..._

* * *

><p>Shaolin took a sip of tea from the antique cup she was holding and nodded as Rukia related her story; the taste of the honey-sweetened liquid woke her up a little and soothed her nerves at the same time. She wasn't completely out of it; the ex-shinigami had managed to get some more sleep and a shower this past afternoon, but she had the feeling she was going to need as sharp a mind as she could muster this evening.<p>

Sitting in front of her were a Kuchiki and a Shiba, two people from two of the Great Clans.

A century might have passed since Shaolin had had to deal with Soul Society court etiquette, but she still remembered the old ways; her upbringing and blood told her what was the right thing to do, the right way to act.

And so she was doing this a certain way...even if it was unsettling the two teens.

Shaolin was right now wearing a long-sleeved black kimono, one printed with golden flowers and honeybees; the feel of the silk on her skin helped to make her feel more comfortable and it provided the image she wanted right now when dealing with Rukia.

She was also wearing a pair of simple diamond studs to reinforce her image as the lady of this 'manor', a thought that briefly took her back to the place she'd received the earrings, that fall evening in...

Gods...had it been that long since she'd known Karl and his family...?

The ex-shinigami brought herself back to the present; she had more immediate concerns here.

She'd moved the furniture in the room to one side and set down a low table, on top of which were an antique teapot and three very old teacups. None of the things were exactly priceless heirlooms, of course, but they were worth a fair amount and looked it.

After all, being from a lesser noble clan herself, she needed to properly entertain her guest without overshadowing her.

Especially since said guest was now back in her gigai and in the plain gray jacket and skirt of a student from Karakura High School. Ichigo was back in his body as well – something which relieved the ex-shinigami to no end – and also in school uniform, and he was looking equally...unsettled at the formality around him.

He hadn't even touched his tea, and the older woman had a feeling he wouldn't; she hadn't liked sitting around with 'old people' much when she was of a comparable age.

Then again, maybe the unease was because at their last meeting Shaolin had...'insisted' that the two teens come here as soon as they could after school.

Or she'd spend the evening hunting them down and dragging them to Furin Hall by their hair...

The ex-shinigami set the tea in her hands down on the table and focused her attention on Rukia.

"So you arrived in Karakura...why did you go to Ichigo's house?"

Rukia looked directly back at Shaolin; apparently the young shinigami had regained some of her fire.

"I wasn't going there just for the hell of it, if that's what you meant."

Shaolin amended her observation; Rukia had regained a _lot_ of her fire.

The ex-shinigami sighed and closed her eyes.

"I've already apologized to you, Kuchiki...san, about my treatment of you earlier."

"You just didn't like the way I treated _Ichigo_, is that it?"

The young man turned his attention to his 'partner'.

"Rukia, what the-?"

Shaolin held up her hand to calm him.

"Ichigo, let me handle this; I'm the one who brought the two of you in here, so it's my responsibility."

Ichigo paused, not looking very sure about such a course of action. Then he sighed and nodded his head, though he didn't look terribly happy about it.

Shaolin turned her attention back to Rukia.

"Would you care if someone was getting a loved one into serious trouble?"

That seemed to take the girl by surprise; Rukia looked like she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it and decided taking a sip of tea would be more appropriate.

"_This is going to be a long night, is it not?"_

Shaolin had to shake her head slightly in agreement; she knew it was going to get longer pretty soon.

"I went to Ichigo's place because I sensed a Hollow somewhere around there. But when I got there..."

Rukia shook her head in frustration, and then turned a glare on Ichigo, one he returned.

"...I couldn't really sense where the thing was exactly, thanks to this idiot's..."

Now Shaolin was the one glaring, at Rukia. The young shinigami stopped, glared back at Shaolin for a moment, and then sighed.

"All right...this _man's_ reiatsu, and so I had to search around by foot to see where the Hollow was."

"And you invaded my bedroom!"

Shaolin stopped at that, while Rukia glared at Ichigo yet again.

"I wasn't trying to sneak into your bedroom you perv-... I was doing a random search and I _just_ _happened_ to enter your room first, okay!"

Ichigo still cast a venomous gaze at Rukia, and all Shaolin could do was shake her head again and sigh.

"_I am _sure_ the Kuchiki will love that one..."_

The ex-shinigami had to agree with that; bad enough that a child of an august clan should be working with a 'peasant'...

There was no need for more grist in Soul Society's rumor mills.

"Calm down, you two. Now what happened exactly?"

Rukia started looking uncomfortable all of a sudden; the fire was still there, but now she was trying to avoid eye contact.

Ichigo sighed and turned to the ex-shinigami.

"She came through one of the walls and started talking to herself... I though she was a burglar, so-"

"Will you shut up!"

Rukia had turned on Ichigo with more than a little anger in her expression, but Shaolin could also see and hear the desperation in her voice. The assassin arched an eyebrow.

Ichigo turned a combative face on his 'partner'.

"I will not shut up; obasan needs to hear this! And besides, all I was going to say is that I kicked your ass!"

Shaolin closed her eyes and sighed again, this time internally.

"_Oh gods...I can just imagine the fight..."_

Shaolin could too, or at least see the highlights. All Rukia would have to do now is tell her family and...

And she opened her eyes and saw Rukia looking utterly ashamed and embarrassed.

Shaolin could understand that kind of feeling; being beaten by a 'mere human' had to be humiliating, but...

Then she noticed that, even as she was looking away, Rukia was absently rubbing her backside...

The assassin's jaw fell open a little, and she turned her attention to Ichigo.

"Wait a minute...you didn't mean you beat her up or anything? ...You _literally_ kicked her ass?"

Ichigo nodded and kept his gaze on Rukia.

"Sure did. Sent her flying across the room-"

"Okay, that's enough! Savor your victory, you...ohhhhh!"

Rukia turned away from him and looked to the floor in shame and outrage.

Shaolin sat there shaking her head in disbelief and wonder, and then closed her eyes and put a hand over her mouth. She didn't want them to see her trying not to laugh.

Hana had no such restrictions; the assassin could feel her friend's mirth.

"_Oh...oh...now _there_ is something to put on your resume: kicked ass on a daughter of the Kuchiki..."_

Even as she took a moment to let the waves of would-be laughter roll through her, Shaolin gave silent thanks to her godson.

She had badly needed something like that.

The assassin waited until she had gotten herself under control, and then opened her eyes and started looking at the two teens again. Rukia still wasn't terribly happy, though she didn't look quite as ashamed, while Ichigo had a serious expression on his face again.

"I assume Kuchiki...san-"

"Why do you have a problem using an honorific with Rukia?"

Shaolin paused to give a good answer to the young man's question; she'd have to do something about that from now on.

"_Because it is an insulting one for the young lady's rank..."_

Shaolin decided to frown on Ichigo.

"Here's a better one: why do the two of _you_ use your given names with each other? Is there something I should know about?"

"_Good one."_

Ichigo tried his best not to seem too phased by the question, but Shaolin could see him pale a little at the insinuation; Rukia, on the other hand, looked like she was about to choke.

"Obasan...that's just the way people like us talk these days...you know that..."

The uncomfortable tone and the nervous display of the teens chilled Shaolin a little, and she knew she wasn't going to like what the big secret was. But for now she needed to continue with this part of their story, so she made a show of considering Ichigo's lame answer and tried not to notice Rukia's attempt to not look too desperate.

"All right, I'll accept that. In any case, I assume the young lady didn't stay on the floor for very long."

Thinking his ruse had worked, Ichigo relaxed considerably, as did Rukia; after a moment, their expression had changed and now it was Ichigo's turn to look ashamed and Rukia's to look satisfied.

"No, no she didn't, obasan... She bound my ass with some kind of spell, and then started going on about this whole mess with the shinigami and Pluses and Hollows and all that other crap..."

The assassin hoped she was keeping her expression neutral; she already wasn't happy with this girl about Ichigo getting dragged into this mess, but now...

She could feel a dark pit forming in her soul, and hear the same general emotion coming from Hana.

"_Of all the unbelievably stupid..."_

"I assume at some point the Hollow makes an appearance...?"

Ichigo's face turned very somber.

"Right after Rukia got done telling me all this stuff, we heard a noise at the door and..."

Ichigo just sat there, looking like he didn't want to go on. Rukia looked at him in sympathy and then turned to Shaolin.

"I opened the door...and saw his sister, Karin..."

"...she was covered in blood..."

Shaolin started at that; she gave her full attention to the now unsettled Rukia.

"She told us about the monster downstairs attacking her family...and then she collapsed..."

The girl's voice trailed off and it took a moment for Shaolin to figure out it was because of a hard glare she was giving Rukia.

"S-she was fine; just a surface wound, easily healed later..."

Shaolin found herself retracting the prayers of thanks she'd given to this twit the day before.

She also promised herself that, when she got a few hours to spare, Karin would be getting the biggest ice cream sundae of her life. And she'd definitely be getting some training.

But for now...

"Go on."

Rukia looked decidedly more uncomfortable from the tone of Shaolin's words, but she did as told.

"So...I go downstairs and find what I assume was Ichigo's father on the floor and...look, I'm sorry, okay?"

Shaolin closed her eyes and relaxed her facial features the best she could; she was beginning to find herself in a state beyond anger, a cold place of utter calm and tranquility that nevertheless reminded her of a coiled spring.

Isshin had been one of the most powerful shinigami, one of the most powerful people – period – that Shaolin had ever known...

And he and his family had been nearly exterminated in their own home the one time she was away for an extended period.

Shaolin took a breath to calm herself, but found it wasn't doing much for her imagination.

The ex-shinigami had been in Tokyo International just two or three mornings ago.

Now the memory replayed itself, only with a haunted Ichigo standing at the gateway, waiting for her; her going to him and asking what was wrong...

And him embracing her like a safety blanket, weeping about the loss of his family and how it was all his fault...

Shaolin kept her breathing even and used her clan's training to build a cage of rationality around the animal part of her soul.

Because that part of her wanted to reach across the table right now and snap Rukia's neck like a twig.

But that would cause a war...

And it would desecrate the atmosphere of her home...

And for some unknown reason she felt her godson had a liking for this girl, so he would be terribly upset...

So the assassin centered herself, focused her thoughts and placed a transparent wall between herself and the world around her, so she would be viewing instead of living in it.

She finished her work and then opened her eyes and found that she could at least stand looking at the girl.

"_Shaolin, are you...?"_

"Are...you all right, ma'am...?"

The assassin nodded at both questions.

"I'm fine, don't worry it... Now, where was Yuzu? And where were you, Ichigo?"

The young man flinched at the address and Shaolin immediately felt a twinge of regret since her tone was still a little dangerous. It wasn't his fault this had happened, and it had to be a painful memory.

It took a moment for Ichigo to recover, and then he started talking in a steadier voice than before.

"I broke loose from the spell...it seemed to surprise Rukia pretty good."

"_I imagine it did; she did not know she was dealing with a Pure Blood, as opposed to a 'mere human'."_

Shaolin nodded at both statements, glad at the relief she could now feel in Hana's voice.

"Anyway, I went outside and the thing had Yuzu in its hands...like some kind of rag doll..."

"...I get the picture..."

They all sat there in silence for a moment.

"I assume you tried to attack the creature, Ichigo?"

It took a moment, but he nodded his head.

"It had my sister, what the hell was I supposed to do?"

He paused and then looked a little embarrassed.

"All I had in my hands was a baseball bat; I took a swing with it, but it just broke in half on that monster's hide."

He jabbed a thumb at Rukia.

"Then Rukia here told me that that thing was after me...after my 'power'..."

He closed his eyes and bowed his head; Shaolin could easily understand what was going on in there, then and now.

"You felt like you did back when..."

"I did...a little..."

He sighed, ignoring Rukia's arched eyebrow, and then Ichigo looked Shaolin in the eye.

"When I realized what it was after I did the only thing I could think of..."

Shaolin began to visualize what the boy of six years ago would have done; she could see Ichigo standing in front of the Hollow, offering himself in exchange for his family...

"He ran away."

Rukia's chiding words brought the assassin's imagination to a screeching halt. She focused her attention across the table to find the girl casting a smug glance at Ichigo, who in turn was obviously in the process of trying to prove he wasn't a coward.

"I did _not_ 'run away'."

"It sure looked like running to me..."

Shaolin turned on her godson; she most emphatically wanted to hear this part in detail.

"Well, what exactly _did_ you do?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Hey you, you big ugly son of a bitch!"<em>

_The massive humanoid creature took a moment, and then turned towards Ichigo, Yuzu's bloodied body in its hand..._

_Gods, why did she have to get involved in this?_

_It only underscored what a monster this _thing_ was that he was facing._

"_Yeah, that's it! Over here! You wanted me?"_

_The...Hollow, the shinigami had called it...seemed to be thinking about it, and that fact made Ichigo swear to himself._

_Why did the bullies have to be so damn _dumb_?_

"_C'mon you idiot, right over here!"_

_He waved his arms at himself._

"_Don't you want a biiiig tasty meal like me, instead of that...nothing in your hands? C'mon, it's not hard..."_

_The creature still looked like it was taking its time...and then a flash of black and the petite shinigami was almost standing in mid-air, her sword out and slicing into the Hollow's arm. The creature let out a wail of pain and let go of Yuzu, who was promptly caught and brought to the ground as the small death spirit completed her arc._

Good...maybe she isn't all talk and no walk after all...

_He locked eyes with the Hollow._

"_Now, what the hell are you waiting for? Leave them alone and come after me, if you want me!"_

_He could see the shinigami turn her face to him._

"_What are you doing you-?"_

_The rest was drowned out by a roar coming from the beast, who then started charging after Ichigo._

Gods, I hope this works...

_As he started running, he prayed he hadn't bitten off more than he could chew..._

* * *

><p>"Like I said: he ran, like a coward."<p>

Rukia couldn't help but leer teasingly at Ichigo for a moment, a gaze Ichigo chose not to respond to.

Shaolin steepled her fingers as she absorbed that; she still felt cold inside, but the pit wasn't as deep anymore.

She was beginning to feel that Ichigo might be saving her again.

"What was your reasoning behind doing that, Ichigo?"

The young man looked like he was thinking about it, while trying not to be ashamed of himself.

"I...I didn't want to fight it while Dad and Karin and Yuzu were nearby; I wanted to make sure that thing was away from them..."

Shaolin waited a moment on that, and then nodded her head.

"Rukia's right, Ichigo. You did act like a coward..."

Ichigo's shoulders sagged, while Rukia's smug smile only widened.

"...if you subscribe to the ultra-macho samurai bullshit of her kind."

Rukia's smile froze solid on her face and her eyes went wide with shock; Ichigo just looked at the assassin slightly dumbfounded.

"Wha...but...?"

Shaolin took a moment to collect her thoughts, as well as to try and not get too caught up in her memories as she did so.

"You weren't running because you were scared, you were running because you faced an opponent you couldn't beat simply by charging and swinging some blunt object. You wanted time to figure out how to beat that thing."

She turned her attention to Rukia and was about to speak when she noticed the look in the younger woman's eyes. Rukia looked like she was having a flashback of her own, one that troubled her.

"You have something to say about this, Kuchiki-san?"

Rukia hesitated.

"You just...Now that you said it, you sound like someone I know."

"And I'll bet most people don't care for that person's opinion?"

Rukia nodded.

"Well, that sounds about right for Soul Society. It may sound bold and dashing to just charge on in, but I've seen more than a few people get themselves and others needlessly killed because of the kind of thinking your kind like to follow."

Rukia looked disturbed by the conversation's turn.

"T-that's not how I see it."

Shaolin nodded in acknowledgment.

"That may be true, but...look where that kind of thinking has gotten you..."

Now the young shinigami girl was completely floored; she tried to open her mouth to say something, stopped and tried again, and then looked down at the table as her shoulders slumped.

Shaolin turned back to Ichigo.

"Now how exactly did you get Kuchiki-san's powers from there?"

* * *

><p><em>This was getting ridiculous.<em>

_Ichigo was running again after having tried to throw another...something else at the Hollow. He thought it was some kid's bike this time, but he wasn't exactly in the mood to keep track of stuff like that right now._

_He was just trying to figure out what the hell that thing's skin was made of and what might punch through it other than a shinigami's blade._

_If he didn't, he wasn't going to be around much longer._

_And then that thing was probably going to just run rampant through the town._

_Maybe it would go back to his house, or maybe it'd go after Tatsuki or Orihime, or..._

_The creature made another swipe at him with its overlong arms, and he felt the claws connect with his leg. It didn't tear through his pants, but it was enough to send him to the ground face-first._

_He rolled quickly to see the creature coming to stand in front of him. It let out what the young man could only see as a roar of triumph._

This is it, isn't it...?

_He began to see his life flash before his eyes: days with Mom, time with Tatsuki and Uryuu when they were young, Dad and Karin and Yuzu at home, obasan at the dojo, Orihime pestering him with another 'token of affection'..._

_And then a certain black-clad figure flashed in front of his eyes._

_She'd just appeared out of nowhere, right behind the Hollow, with sword drawn and held high above her head._

_She was going for a killing blow across the neck, or maybe slicing down through the thing's skull; it didn't matter, just that this fight was..._

_The creature's face was just a hinged mask; there was no way for its lips to move._

_But Ichigo could tell somehow that it was smiling._

"_Yo, shinigami, look out!"_

_Even as he said the words, he saw the Hollow turn around and throw a massive swipe at the girl. She only had enough time for her eyes to widen in shock before the hand hit her, and then threw as much as knocked her into the pavement. As he picked himself up, he could see the claws on the thing's hands tear through her robes, spraying blood all over the place._

_Her body bounced a little and then the shinigami lay still on the pavement, the Hollow standing over her now._

This isn't happening...

_The one person with the one weapon that could kill this thing and..._

"_You son of a bitch!"_

_The Hollow turned its attention towards Ichigo now; the creature probably figured the harmless human wouldn't be much challenge, even as Ichigo ran up to it and..._

_Ichigo knew he was different; stronger and more durable than most people. It always kind of disturbed him, and he liked to restrain himself._

_But now he poured all his strength, strength that was able to shatter concrete, into his right leg as he launched a high kick between the Hollow's legs._

_The attack connected, and time froze..._

_Then Ichigo lowered his leg back to the ground, even as a high wail began to come from the Hollow's mouth. The beast fell to its knees as it clamped its hands over the afflicted area._

_With the Hollow disabled for the moment, Ichigo turned and ran to the shinigami girl. He took a moment to look at her; she was groaning, still conscious, but she had a big gash on her side. Her sword lay on the street off to one side, as did a good deal of her blood._

_Some part of Ichigo's mind puzzled over a spirit having blood at all, but then he realized he needed to get the hell out of there. Scooping the girl into his arms and grabbing her sword, he started away from the Hollow as fast as he could._

_He ran, and kept running, past houses and fences and streetlamps and...he didn't know and didn't care what else._

_All he cared about was the young woman bleeding her...he supposed it was life...out in front of him._

_He finally stopped in a small park, going over to one of the trees and setting the girl down next to it; he laid her sword by her side._

_Even as he did so, she began to stir, and opened her eyes._

"_Wha...what...?"_

"_Don't move, you're in bad shape-"_

_He could hear the roar of the Hollow in the distance, a little higher in pitch now; he was sure the thing was on its way here as fast as it could run._

_As the sound died away, he could hear swearing, and realized it was coming from the girl. Tears were starting to come out of her eyes, and she was trying to pound her fist on the ground._

"_Damn it, damn it, damn it..."_

_He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently._

"_C'mon, snap out of it...what's-"_

"_I can't believe this is happening; not now..."_

_Another roar in the distance._

"_Well, I'm not too wild about what's going on, either. Look, that thing's coming over here, and unless you've got some way to kick its ass from here-"_

_The girl seemed to come back to reality at those words; she seemed to be pretty lucid for someone with as bad a wound as she had. She turned her attention to him, set her face, and then nodded._

"_I get the point."_

_The shinigami lay there for a moment, narrowing her eyes in thought._

_Another roar echoed through the night; the Hollow was getting much closer..._

"_Well?"_

_The girl took another moment, and then closed her eyes and sighed._

"_There is a way...but it's risky..."_

_Ichigo looked off in the direction where he had heard the roar, and then back to the shinigami._

"_Well, what is it?"_

"_I...can 'loan' you some of my powers. You would be able to fight the thing..."_

_There was some reluctance in the girl's voice, and Ichigo could tell she was hiding something._

"_What's wrong? How do we do it?"_

_The girl hesitated, and then opened her eyes and looked straight into Ichigo's._

"_I have to drive my zanpaktou through your heart."_

_Ichigo stared at her for a second, not comprehending, and then his eyes went wide as he realized she was talking about her sword. He pointed at the thing, even as the shinigami was weakly picking it up._

"_Are you serious? That's gonna kill me!"_

_The girl looked annoyed and slowly shook her head._

"_It's only supposed...to be used on other shinigami, but you have so much power...it might work... The odds are good that you will die anyway, but if it works...you'll gain the power to fight that thing..."_

_Another roar sounded through the night, and now Ichigo could hear the footsteps of the Hollow._

_He wished he could think, wished he could come up with something better. But right now it was looking like he had two choices:_

_Possible death from what this girl was offering...or definite death from the Hollow._

_He sighed and his shoulders sagged as he nodded to her._

"_All right, I'll do it. But if I die, I'm gonna come back and kick your ass, woman."_

_She raised the blade up as best she could; Ichigo gently grabbed the blade itself and steadied it._

"_The name's...Kuchiki Rukia."_

"_Nice to know you, Rukia. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."_

_Rukia started for a moment, and then frowned._

"_Well...shall we get on with this..._Ichigo_?"_

_The young man nodded his head, and aimed the point of the sword at where he thought his heart was._

"_Right, let's do this before I chicken out."_

_His acceptance of the use of his given name seemed to irk Rukia, and she frowned even more tightly as she drove the blade forward._

_A bright flash of white light almost blinded Ichigo, and when it dissipated he felt a weight on his back, and the flowing sensation of silk on his body. He looked down and saw himself wearing the same black robes Rukia had been wearing before, and a massive leather belt around his chest..._

_And Rukia herself was still laying on the ground, clad only in a white kimono stained with the red of her blood, her blade nowhere to be seen._

"_Are you all right...?"_

_The shinigami had a disbelieving, almost horrified, look on her face, and she was half-shaking her head even as she was taking in the situation._

"_Wha-what happened...I... This isn't..."_

_A massive roar and the crash of foliage announced the arrival of the Hollow. Ichigo turned to face it, and by some instinct reached over his shoulder to draw the blade he now knew he possessed._

"_Just hold on Rukia; let me take care of this."_

_Letting out a challenging war-cry of his own, Ichigo charged the beast in front of him..._

* * *

><p>"After that, I kicked its ass."<p>

"Like you kicked Kuchiki-san's here?"

"HEY!"

Shaolin and Ichigo smiled at the outraged look on Rukia's face.

"My apologies, Kuchiki-san."

"_She is just going to have to get used to the fact that she will never live that down around here..."_

Rukia managed to get hold of herself, and then gave Ichigo a teasing smile laced with evil.

"At least I stayed conscious after that fight; you fainted..."

Ichigo started, his eyes going wide, and then his pride crumbled right in front of the two women. He stared at Rukia, mouth open as he tried to say something, and then his shoulders just slumped and he hung his head in defeat.

Shaolin kept her face neutral, but inside she felt sympathy for the young man, as well as something else. Even as she looked at her godson, the ex-shinigami felt a warm glow rise within her, filling up some of the void that had taken hold of her soul.

"Ichigo, before we go any further, I want you to know something."

She smiled warmly, and then reached over and put her hand on his shoulder.

Ichigo lifted his head and the two of them locked gazes.

"Obasan...?"

"You braved death to save your family that night, Ichigo, and I am very proud of you for that. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

She spared a glance at Rukia.

"Especially about fainting."

The young man took a moment to absorb that and then he smiled, a little more sheepishly than Shaolin was.

"Thanks, Shaolin-obasan."

The ex-shinigami pulled back to her side of the table, and sat there, admiring the man sitting across from her, knowing Masaki would be proud as well.

Shaolin waited for Ichigo to pull himself back together; after a few moments the young man took a deep breath and then looked at Shaolin with a steady gaze.

"Anyway, I wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway without Rukia's powers. If it wasn't for her-"

"Your family would have never been in danger."

The room went silent at Shaolin's quiet statement; Ichigo just stopped dead and stared at her, while Rukia had a look of mild outrage.

"What are you talking about?"

"_Oh, here we go..."_

Shaolin ignored Hana's comment as she felt the warm feeling fade and the coldness return; she focused her gaze and attention on Rukia. The younger shinigami just looked defiantly back at her.

"Ichigo's words...you haven't been trying to guilt-trip him since then, have you?"

She waved her hand at her godson for emphasis. Rukia firmly shook her head.

"No, I didn't; he just came up with that on his own."

"And you merely took advantage of that."

Shaolin coldly smiled as the girl's own features began to reveal some guilt; the ex-shinigami decided to press her opening.

"When you came to Ichigo's house, why did you stop to talk his ear off about your mission?"

The young woman stopped short.

"Well, because-"

"You knew there was a Hollow in the area, you knew something was blocking your ability to find the thing, you knew you had to search door-to-door for it. And yet, when you find a young human who can see you, you proceed to stand there and focus your attention exclusively on him.

"Why?"

Rukia sat where she was, stunned more than outraged or guilty now, and it took her a moment to come up with something.

"Well, I guess..."

"Let me save you the trouble. You ran into some nobody who didn't understand how important your mission was, much less how important _you_ were. So you decided to blab about the war with the Hollows...the shinigami...and whatever else passed your fancy..."

Shaolin took another sip of tea, both to clear her throat and to let the implications of what she was saying sink in.

There was a hardness to Ichigo's eyes now, even as he avoided looking in Rukia's direction.

"And meanwhile, that thing was probably snacking on whoever it wanted. There was this kid's ghost I never did run into again after that day..."

Shaolin nodded and saw that Rukia's face was beginning to pale and her eyes were going wide.

"A professional shinigami would have seen Ichigo as a minor irritant; they would have bound him as you did, and then continued on their business. If they wanted to talk to him, they would have done it after they'd taken care of the Hollow.

"After all, that's supposed to be your job, isn't it?"

"_Careful..."_

Shaolin ignored her friend's caution; she knew she had a cover, but if she dropped enough specific information, Rukia would be fixing her gaze on Shaolin, not on Isshin and his family.

And especially not on Ichigo.

Rukia by now was just starting to look at the floor and shake her head; she looked like she was slowly falling into a pit as she started to see what Shaolin was talking about.

"I...Ichigo, I..."

Ichigo sighed and looked at Shaolin with a steady gaze.

"Obasan, she screwed up, but-"

"But nothing, Ichigo. She may have given you the power to help your family and yourself out of trouble, but she was the one who got you all into trouble in the first place."

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"If Karin hadn't made it to your door, what do you think would have happened?"

Now Ichigo looked profoundly disturbed; it didn't seem to be taxing his imagination to figure that out.

"_He would have likely been talking to you about adoption right now...and the funerals for his family. That is, if he had lived..."_

Rukia looked like she was trying to decide whether to panic or hang her head in shame; she chose to do the latter.

Shaolin locked eyes with her godson.

"Ichigo, whether you like her or not, whether you like fighting Hollows or not, I want you to understand this: you owe that woman _nothing_."

The young man seemed to take a moment to think on that, and then firmly nodded his head. Rukia merely sat in her place, her head hung in a posture of submission and defeat totally out of place with her clan name.

But that was just as it should be, as far as Shaolin was concerned. Rukia had been put in her place, probably for the first time, and her hold over Ichigo had almost certainly been shaken. Now Shaolin would have an easier time dealing with the situation.

She turned her attention to Ichigo again; she noticed that Rukia had recovered, but was still looking unsure about the situation.

"With that in mind, what did you think of being a shinigami?"

Ichigo looked a little taken aback by the question, and he actually made a show of thinking about it.

"It felt like dream, actually..."

Shaolin could feel her eyes widen a bit and the hair stand on the back of her neck. She didn't like hearing those words from a boy she wanted to remain among the living, but at the same time she understood what he meant.

Being human could be terribly limiting at times...

"...at least when I woke up in my room the next morning. I was back in my body, my room was the same...for all I knew, I'd just had a nightmare."

The ex-shinigami felt herself relax again; maybe she really was getting paranoid.

"Then I go downstairs...Dad and Karin and Yuzu were all right, but the hole the Hollow made in the house was there. They didn't remember anything, though."

Shaolin nodded her head.

"Bet you were relieved..."

"Yeah...I never realized before how much I'd taken them for granted... I think Karin and Yuzu got weirded out when I hugged them..."

"_I bet they were..."_

Shaolin smiled at the thought, and some part of her saw perhaps a little good in this. She'd seen more than one person realize the importance of life after nearly losing it; maybe that would be the case here as well.

If the Kuchiki or the Gotei 13, or a hundred other things didn't get involved...

"Anyway, I thought it was all over: Rukia had given me her powers for a few hours, the Hollow was dead, I was back in my body, and everything was back to normal, more or less. So I go to school..."

Then his expression became annoyed and he jerked a thumb towards the young shinigami.

"And then I find her in class that morning, acting like she owned me or something..."

* * *

><p>"<em>Hello, neighbor!"<em>

_Ichigo almost dropped his bag as he heard the cheery voice behind him._

What the...?

_He turned and lowered his head and saw..._

_Standing right behind him was Kuchiki Rukia, an overly friendly smile plastered on her face, looking just like she had the evening before._

_Except that she was wearing the gray jacket and skirt of a Karakura-_

"_What the hell are you-?"_

_He was cut off by Rukia's heel on his toes, and he only just suppressed the urge to cry out in pain. Before he say anything further, the short shinigami grabbed Ichigo's hand in a grip of steel and started to haul him out of the classroom._

"_Hey wait a minute! Rukia!"_

"_Uhm, what's going on?"_

_Ichigo and Rukia turned their attention to the door, where they could see Tatsuki and Orihime making their way in. Or at least they were making their way in; as soon as she saw what was going on, Tatsuki seemed to make a point of stopping in the doorway._

_Rukia looked very annoyed for a second, and then the bright smile was back on her face._

"_Oh nothing...I was just going to have Ichigo...show me around, that's all..."_

_Tatsuki frowned and crossed her arms over her chest._

"_Really? That's funny. Because you know class is about to start, don't you?"_

"_Rukia, how about we..."_

_The petite girl just flashed her smile at Ichigo, though he could see an edge to it now._

"_Don't worry, Ichigo, I've got this covered."_

_Tatsuki arched an eyebrow, while Orihime's eyes widened a little._

"_You know her, Kurosaki-kun?"_

"_Uhm...not really, I..."_

_Before he could finish, Rukia hurled her foot down on Tatsuki's toes, causing the taller brunette to scream in pain._

"_Tatsuki-chan!"_

_Even as Ichigo stared slack-jawed at the display, Tatsuki recovered and almost lifted Rukia off her feet by way of grabbing the front of her shirt._

"_What the hell was that-?"_

"_Oh teacher, teacher...this girl is being mean to me..."_

"_Arisawa-san, what do you think you're doing?"_

_Everyone there turned to see Ms. Ochi coming into the classroom, sliding past a slightly horrified Orihime. She took one look at Tatsuki, who was still holding Rukia, and crossed her arms over her chest._

_The brunette turned her attention to the teacher, letting go of Rukia in the process, and pointed at the diminutive student._

"_It wasn't my fault, Ochi-sensei. This girl was trying to smash my foot into paste."_

"_Well that was because you were trying to beat me up!"_

_Tatsuki turned on Rukia, flames in her eyes._

"_Did not; you started this!"_

"_Arisawa-san!"_

_Even as Tatsuki shot a disbelieving look at the the people around her, Rukia grabbed hold of Ichigo's hand._

"_Look...Ochi-sensei?...I need to have a chat with Ichigo alone; we'll be back in a few minutes, I promise."_

_Even as she flashed a brilliant smile at the teacher, the older woman was considering the matter._

"_Well...I'm not supposed to allow that. But Ichigo is is tardy a lot, and it seems to be important to you two so..."_

_Ms. Ochi's face lit into a bright smile._

"_You two go do whatever!"_

_Tatsuki and Ichigo's jaws dropped, even as Rukia's smile widened and she gave a small bow._

"_Thank you, sensei. Come along Ichigo..."_

_Before anyone could say anything else, she hauled her 'prisoner' out the door and past a-now outraged Tatsuki._

_Even as he protested the maneuver, the girl dragged him all the way up the stairs to the roof entrance, threw the door open, and then practically hurled him onto the roof. After checking to make sure no one had followed them, she closed the door and let Ichigo pick himself up._

_He glared at her with all the outrage he could, while she just looked appreciatively at the door._

"_Not quite the fight I wanted, but it did the trick..."_

"_What the hell...? Do you know what you just-"_

_Rukia cut him off with a wave of her hand._

"_Never mind that, Kurosaki-san; I need your help."_

_The words nearly threw him back onto the roof; he stopped, stared at her, and then started in again._

"_What now? Is there another one of those things wandering around?"_

_She shook her head._

"_Thankfully no, but I wouldn't be able to do anything about it if I wanted to."_

"_Why not?"_

_She pointed at him._

"_Because you still have my powers."_

_Ichigo's jaw dropped a little and he took a moment to pat himself down._

"_What...? I don't feel like..."_

"_You have them, trust me. Something went wrong with the ritual, and-"_

"_How do you screw something like that up?"_

_For the first time, the girl before him looked frustrated and worried._

"_I don't know, okay? And more to the point, you didn't get half my power, you got almost all of it. I'm helpless..." _

_She crossed her arms over her chest and looked to the ground with a troubled expression. For a moment, Ichigo felt a little sorry for her; Rukia looked so vulnerable..._

_Then the fake smile was back on her face and she looked directly at him again._

"_In any case, the Hollows are still out there, you have my powers, so...you're just going to have to do my job for me until my powers return."_

_The look he gave her must have said everything, because she started looking annoyed herself._

"_Look, it's not for a very long time, okay? Just a day or two...I'm sure my powers should return by then..."_

_Even as she said the words, Rukia seemed unsure about them._

_It was that quality that made Ichigo figure perhaps the girl was telling the truth._

"_All right...I'll see what I can do..."_

_The smile came back to Rukia's face, and she started pulling out what looked like a cellphone and then started to tap some of the buttons._

"_Great...now lets see if there's anything going on right now..."_

* * *

><p>Shaolin closed her eyes and absorbed the information she'd just had related to her.<p>

"No wonder Tatsuki-chan doesn't like you very much. Although, she never mentioned that incident to me..."

She looked pointedly at Rukia, but it was Ichigo who spoke up.

"She keeps spraying the class with that memory stuff..."

The assassin froze and then stared at the two of them.

"You do understand, don't you, that stuff's a mild hallucinogen? Only to be used when you seriously screw up...?"

Rukia started at the insult the comment, and Ichigo didn't look terribly happy either.

"You mean Tatsuki's...?"

"No, she and everyone else is probably all right. There is a danger of building immunity, though; the human body can get used to just about anything if given enough contact with it."

And if that was what was happening to Tatsuki...

The ex-shinigami sighed and looked pointedly at her counterpart.

"Why did you do that, going to his school, intruding on their lives? Why didn't you talk to Kisuke-san about your 'problem'?"

She could almost feel Rukia stop and grow a little nervous.

"Kisuke...san? Wait a minute, you know him...?"

The ex-shinigami nodded and then opened her eyes to find that Rukia had indeed gone a little wide-eyed.

So, one more thing Rukia had held over Ichigo taken away...

Shaolin noticed Ichigo's puzzled look and turned towards him.

"Urahara Kisuke is what you might call a local...'fixer', and he's a good friend. In fact, I used to work for him directly."

"What's he like?"

She nodded her head sideways.

"A good person, overall. I wouldn't completely trust him, if I were you, but I think you'd like him. I'll introduce you to him if it comes to that."

She turned back to Rukia.

"Now, back to the earlier question...?"

The girl managed to recover from her shock, and then sighed.

"I don't have to tell you that..."

Shaolin made a show of considering the answer she was given.

"I think I know what it probably was. You're from an important family, so you probably didn't want to embarrass yourself. And so, rather than say anything or ask for help and thereby risk having your failure become public, you decided to draft 'the peasant' and hope everything would work out."

She arched an eyebrow.

"Am I right?"

Rukia didn't say anything, but the fact that she was squirming even more uncomfortably told Shaolin all she needed to know.

She had been trying very hard to not hate the girl, to give Rukia the chance to defend herself through word and action, but the more the ex-shinigami understood of the situation, the less she liked it.

Ichigo gave Rukia a curious glance, one tinged with worry, and then looked back to Shaolin.

"Anyway, she's been dragging me all over the place, fighting Hollows and basically making herself comfy in my life..."

Rukia seemed to come a little alive at that.

"Not that you have much of a social life to begin with. The way you treat your friends..."

Ichigo looked like he was going to protest for a moment, and then he hanged his head a little.

"Actually...I _have_ been kind of a bastard the last few years, haven't I?"

Shaolin paused as she thought about what to say.

"Yeah, you have been kind of a pain..."

She could see Ichigo flinch a little.

"But...that's just a part of being young, I guess. I had kind of a wild youth myself."

Now the young man in front of her raised his head and looked at her with skepticism. She poured some more tea into her cup and nodded as she did so.

"Don't look so surprised, Ichigo. When I was your age, I basically told my family to go to hell; I left, traveled around, got into a lot of trouble..."

She fingered one earring absently.

"Got involved with a guy I _know_ my family wouldn't have approved of..."

She smiled at him, and he smiled back sheepishly; Rukia looked...intrigued more than anything else.

"Thanks, obasan...I've...kind of missed you a little..."

"I've missed seeing you as well. Maybe we can change that, huh?"

Ichigo's smile broadened a little and he nodded.

"Now, how much has Kuchiki-san told you while you've been working under her? And I want you to seriously think about that question; if you say 'nothing', I'm going to take that literally."

Ichigo looked like he was thinking for a moment.

"Pretty much what you saw last night: Hollows, fighting them, they need to be killed with a zanpaktou so they can find peace..."

"And did she tell you that the shinigami don't terribly much like people who do that?"

Ichigo froze for a moment, and then turned a suspicious eye on Rukia, one that became even more so as he noticed Rukia getting uncomfortable again.

"She left that part out..."

Shaolin sighed again and gave a hard gaze at the young shinigami.

"I know for a fact that the shinigami really don't like people other than themselves hunting Hollows; they seem to consider it poaching or something."

Rukia's eyes widened.

"You sound like we're on some kind of nobleman's hunt or something... This is war!"

Ichigo turned his attention to Shaolin.

"Okay...how much trouble am I in?"

The ex-shinigami took a moment to order her thoughts, and then she sighed and just decided to say what she felt.

"Ichigo, despite their appearance and what they might say to the contrary, the shinigami only care about themselves and their order-"

"That's not true."

Shaolin and Ichigo turned their attention to Rukia and she looked at them in turn.

"We spend our time defending humanity and their dead from the Hollows. Ichigo, I wasn't lying about that..."

The ex-shinigami nodded.

"You're right, but you obviously didn't tell him that they don't allow anyone but an _accredited_ shinigami to hunt Hollows. Two hundred years ago, her people committed an act of genocide to protect their monopoly; they wouldn't even think about killing you, Ichigo."

She cast a glance at Rukia.

"Especially since they would accuse you of intentionally stealing her powers."

Rukia looked like she might protest, but then she decided to just keep quiet when she saw the look of concentration on Ichigo's face.

They continued to sit there in silence for a few moments, and then Ichigo looked into his teacup.

"Obasan...thanks for telling about that. I kind of figured Rukia was leaving a few details out..."

Rukia started to look worried.

"Ichigo..."

"So...am I a dead man or something? I mean, I don't even know what happened exactly..."

Shaolin looked down into her own teacup for a moment, gazing into the sad reflection in the mirror the liquid made.

"Ichigo, I'm sorry this happened to you, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you about any of this before. It's just..."

Ichigo raised his head to look at her and shook his head. There was something in his eyes...

"Don't worry about it, obasan; I probably wouldn't have believed you anyway. I mean, I hadn't even seen a Hollow or a shinigami before Rukia came along. And I probably wouldn't have wanted to listen to you either."

He sighed, and then squared his shoulders.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking the last week..."

Shaolin smiled whimsically.

"You...think? That's a new one..."

The young man matched her smile.

"Yeah, well...nearly getting killed does that to a person, I guess. And so does seeing that you've been fighting these things for...how long?"

The smile dropped away from Shaolin's face and she knew she had a faraway look in her eyes now.

"Most of my life, Ichigo. And before you ask, I'm something of a special case with the shinigamis' 'poaching laws'..."

"That's why you kept disappearing from time to time, wasn't it? You were fighting those things, trying to protect people."

Shaolin quietly nodded.

"Then please let me help you."

The ex-shinigami's heart stopped, and she lifted her head to look at her godson. His shoulders were squared now; there was a resolute look in his eyes, as though he'd made a decision he wasn't going to be backing down from.

"Didn't you hear what I just said about her kind...?"

Ichigo nodded.

"I heard, but if they've already condemned me, I might as well continue doing this. I'll be doing some good, and I'm not going to be getting into any more trouble than I am now."

He reached across the table and laid a hand on one of hers.

"I've had to do this alone for a week now-"

"Hey!"

Ichigo flashed a smile at the outraged Rukia.

"Almost alone, and I can't imagine what it must be like for you, doing this your whole life. I guess what I'm trying to say is: you don't have to be alone if you don't want to be."

"_The man has a point, Shaolin..."_

For once in her existence, Shaolin wasn't sure what to do or how to feel. The idea of bringing Ichigo further into this world, of sending him to an early grave, utterly repelled her. It would be a betrayal of Masaki's memory.

But on the other hand...

Underneath the folds of the kimono, Shaolin could feel the damage she'd incurred on her gigai; it needed to be replaced, and in the not-to-distant future, or people would be asking questions. It made her feel vulnerable, and she had to wonder if she could defend Karakura by herself; the memory of what happened to Rin came to mind.

Also...it would be nice to have some help again, to work with someone she felt she could trust with her life.

The ex-shinigami also had a feeling Ichigo would continue to do this whether she liked it or not; he was his father's son.

She found that she couldn't quite look the young man in the face, but she nodded.

"Let me think about it for a little while, okay? Let's see what happens before we make any plans."

Ichigo nodded and pulled himself back to his side of the table.

"Fair enough, now was there anything else? Yuzu and Karin are probably getting worried about me."

Shaolin took a moment to pull herself back together, and then turned to Rukia. If there was the possibility of Ichigo being the ex-shinigami's 'sidekick'...

"What kind of training have you been giving him?"

The question seemed to shock Rukia, and that made Shaolin narrow her eyes.

"He's been your responsibility; he's been doing your job. You _have_ been giving him instruction of some kind, haven't you?"

Even as Rukia looked like she was trying to figure out what to say to that, Ichigo just harrumphed.

"If you can call messing with a batting machine 'practice'..."

Shaolin's brain froze.

"What...?"

Ichigo described the 'training' he'd received, and as he did so the ex-shinigami found something beginning to snap in her mind; the cage she'd build around her animal self began falling apart, but it wasn't rage she felt anymore...

"_How does one equate hitting painted baseballs with fighting Hollows? Does this woman happen to be related to Inoue-san...?"_

Shaolin started laughing.

It was only a slight giggle at first, but it was like a dam slowly cracking; as the seconds passed more and more of the stress she'd been feeling the last few days slipped out of her and converted itself to laughter.

And her imagination wasn't helping...

She could see the baseball diamond, the black-clad shinigami filling the stands on a sunny day, while the various seated officers were on the field playing the game...

In the umpire's position was the Sou-taichou, of course...

Off in the stands, Kisuke was selling hot dogs and popcorn...

And she could hear the requisite music in the background...

She honestly tried her best to contain the images and the laughter. She knew there would be trouble if she insulted her esteemed guest.

But she couldn't help it; she found herself burying her face in the table to do something to contain this emotion boiling out of her.

"I...I can...can see baseball's...hit Soul Society..."

"_I can just picture the jerseys..."_

Shaolin couldn't get any more out; she was just too overcome with the utter ridiculousness of the situation. Her body shook and she started having trouble staying upright as she continued to laugh as hard as she could...

She managed to turn her eyes up and saw that across from her Ichigo was starting to smile and was even having a little chuckle of his own, probably releasing some of his own stress.

And Rukia...

The young shinigami just stared at the two of them, a look of utter disbelief and dismay on her face. She looked like she wanted to make them stop, but couldn't figure out how to say so.

All she could do was look helplessly back and forth between Shaolin and Ichigo.

Then tears started forming in her eyes, and her lip started to curl up...

And it just made Shaolin roar even harder, much to her mortification.

"Did...did you even...graduate...from the...?"

She just couldn't help-

"That's enough!"

By now, Rukia was standing fully erect, her arms stiffly at her side; tears were streaming down her face, and there was a look of pure outrage in her eyes.

Ichigo managed to straighten up, but not Shaolin. Her laughing died down, but she couldn't stop, couldn't stop her own tears.

"Damn it, stop that! Do you know who I am, you...peasant?"

"Hey Rukia-"

Rukia turned a tear-streaked face at Ichigo, even as Shaolin began to bring her laughing under control.

"I've had enough of this; I've been trying to be nice and... Do you think I like being here, stuck like this, in this body?"

For a moment, she looked like she was going to scream, and then the feeling passed. Instead she bowed her head and covered her face with her hands.

"I wanna go home..."

Even as Ichigo leaned over to console Rukia, Shaolin could feel the darkness in her soul fully dissipating. The danger was past; this woman was no real threat to her or anyone else.

She wasn't worth killing.

The assassin finally got herself under control and took a few deep breaths to steady herself, and then looked back at the two teens. Rukia was still having a good cry, but it seemed simply a way to relieve stress, much like Shaolin's laughter.

"_You are going to be spending a very long time paying for that episode, you know?"_

The ex-shinigami nodded her head even as she mumbled an answer.

"I know, but...it was worth it."

Shaolin took one last deep breath, let it exit her lungs, and then turned a genuinely friendly smile on Rukia while waving at the table.

"Please Kuchiki-san, sit down. We aren't finished here, and besides that I do apologize for that unseemly behavior just now. I have been under a great deal of stress lately and...I just couldn't help myself."

She shrugged for emphasis.

Rukia managed to get a hold of herself and took her hands away from her face, wiping the tears from her eyes as she looked at Shaolin with uncertainty. After a few moments, she looked around and seemed to realize she didn't have too much choice in the matter, so nodded and then sat down in her spot, allowing Ichigo to do the same.

The ex-shinigami took another sip of tea to give Rukia more time to calm down. The girl took a deep breath and looked down at her own teacup.

"I'm not an instructor, you know. I didn't exactly get very high marks at the Academy..."

Then the girl looked her older counterpart in the eye; there was something in her look that said she realized Shaolin knew more than she should.

Which was exactly what the ex-shinigami wanted.

"I did graduate though, thank you very much."

"_I am sure her parents were so proud..."_

Shaolin thought about that, and then nodded.

"Look, in all seriousness, I realize that you're in trouble Kuchiki-san; it must be tough 'being human'..."

It had been for her when she'd gone through the same thing; Shaolin squelched the tiny pang of sympathy that thought created.

"...so I'm going to talk to Kisuke-san and see if he knows something or someone who can help out with this. In the meantime, where can I reach you?"

Rukia's demeanor completely changed with the last few words; her sorrow disappeared, and in its place came a profound uncomfortableness.

As though she realized she was going to be getting on Shaolin's bad side again...

"Oh, well...uhm...I'll be around..."

Shaolin pinned the now-reluctant girl with a hard glare.

"Where can I reach you?"

Rukia hesitated, but then looked like she thought better of it and sighed.

"I've been staying at Ichigo's house..."

Shaolin looked over to the young man and saw him confirm the information with a nod.

But there was something in his expression...

She sighed and shook her head; one more headache to deal with.

"Guys, seriously, don't screw with me on this-"

Both teens flinched, and she held up a hand to silence any protest.

"I was at your house yesterday, Ichigo; Yuzu had set the table for four people. Isshin-san didn't know anything about guests, so where _have_ you been staying, Kuchiki Rukia?"

The two young people stayed uncomfortably silent for a little while, and then Rukia finally spoke up.

"I've been staying in his room. His closet, if you must know."

Shaolin's brain shut down.

"I'm sorry...what did you say...?"

Rukia sighed heavily.

"Ichigo has my powers, and you never know when a Hollow will show up, so I felt like staying near him. And his closet's pretty nice, actually..."

"Yeah, but I've got to be careful every time I try to get dressed for school!"

Rukia turned to her companion.

"Get over yourself, Ichigo! If you have a problem, then just close your eyes...or better yet, knock before you open the door."

"It's my closet!"

Even as the two of them bickered, Shaolin thanked the gods that she was a decent actress, at least where concealing her emotions came in.

Rukia was insulted enough without Shaolin screaming at her.

"For how long have you been staying with Ichigo, Kuchiki-san...?"

The two teens paused in their bickering, sensing by the tone in Shaolin's voice that things were probably going to get ugly; they both squirmed a little before Rukia answered.

"Since...that first day..."

An entire _week_...?

Shaolin's jaw wanted to fall off its hinges.

Hana probably felt the same way, because there was a very long pause before she said anything.

"_This is not happening..."_

A daughter of one of the most powerful, most esteemed and privileged families in all of Soul Society...

Living in some teenaged man's closet.

Shaolin thought for a moment on how to phrase what she was thinking.

"Rukia...you're a very attractive young woman."

The girl seemed taken completely off-guard by the compliment.

"Well...thank you..."

"And I'm sure Ichigo finds you attractive as well..."

"I wouldn't-"

Then Rukia managed to get what Shaolin was getting at, her face turned bright red, and she huffed a few times before getting something out.

"That's outrageous. We haven't been..._doing_ anything...!"

Shaolin enjoyed the look on the girl's face and then shook her head.

"That's probably not what other people are thinking..."

Ichigo was just shaking his head, a sour look on his face.

"You're not going to believe nothing happened?"

Shaolin leveled her eyes on him.

"Should I? What would your families think?"

The young man hung his head and sighed.

"Yeah, my life would be pretty much over..."

He turned to look at Rukia.

"It may already be over thank-...Rukia?"

Rukia was just sitting at her place, eyes wide with horror, her face the color of cement.

"Rukia?"

"Nii-sama's going to kill me..."

Shaolin's blood turned to ice as she heard the honorific, even as Ichigo's eyes went wide with shock and outrage.

"_Nii-sama?_ You mean you've got an older brother...?"

He threw his hands up in the air, completely ignoring Rukia's current state.

"Gods, I can't...! You couldn't have mentioned before the fact that you've got a _brother_, could you?"

Some part of Shaolin's mind understood what Ichigo was getting on about; as an older brother he could understand the idea of breaking some cad in half for messing with his younger sister.

But that wasn't what Shaolin was thinking of, and it seemed Hana was thinking the same thing herself.

"_Sinless Buddha... … At least we have a partial explanation for her adoption into the Kuchiki...someone in Kuchiki-taichou's profession would need an heir..."_

The assassin took a moment to school herself, to keep from either falling into depression or into another laughing fit, and then leveled a hard look at the two teens that caused them to stop bickering.

"So you two...have been living together for all that time... I suppose Kuchiki-san's been getting in and out through your window, Ichigo?"

The young man's face went almost as pale as Rukia's.

"Uhm...ah... I swear, obasan...nothing happened..."

Shaolin wanted to bury her head on the table again; instead she arched an eyebrow.

"You're absolutely sure...? Because as an outsider, I can see two possible stories here...

"First: Kuchiki Rukia – a poor naive girl, unused to the ways of the world – gets either waylaid or seduced by a young man who turns out to be a sorcerer of some kind. He takes her powers, stuffs her in his closet..."

"_Which you can be sure has anything from fiendish torture devices to cockroaches the size of house-cats in it..."_

"...and then goes about the city doing...well, whatever he wants to with her powers at his command."

Shaolin paused to let that take effect. Ichigo was still pale-faced, while Rukia looked more than a little disturbed.

"The second story is that Kuchiki Rukia came to Karakura, decided to have some fun and, being something of a dandy, decided to get some poor fool to do her job for her."

Rukia started looking even more uncomfortable as she felt the stares of two people, and probably because that sounded more like what had actually happened.

"Of course, not having any money on her person, and this being an onerous job, Kuchiki-san had to find some way to make this worthwhile for a young, virile man..."

Rukia's expression flashed to outrage.

"You've got to be kid-!"

"I'm not, and that's how your clan would see this matter, young lady. Forget poaching Hollows; her brother will annihilate you, Ichigo, just for having laid eyes on her."

By now Ichigo was shaking his head in disbelief, even as Rukia looked at the floor again, her expression having turn again to one of shame.

"Ichigo, I'm-"

"How long is your tour of duty here?"

Shaolin's words cut across Rukia's apology; the young shinigami stopped and spent a moment thinking about it.

"One month..."

The ex-shinigami made a quick calculation.

"Then we have maybe three weeks until somebody comes looking for you, Kuchiki-san."

Rukia flinched.

"And before they come for your head, Ichigo."

The young man gulped.

"So...what do we do, obasan...?"

Shaolin sighed and half-wished it was vodka and not tea in her cup.

"You, Ichigo, are going home and then going back to school tomorrow. You'll do whatever you want, but just try to keep out of too much trouble while I see what I'm going to do about all this."

She turned her attention on Rukia.

"And as for you, Kuchiki-san, here's what I plan for you..."

* * *

><p>"They had to have been...well, you know..."<p>

Tatsuki was shaking her head as she said the words.

She'd just come from the door to sensei's room. Tatsuki hadn't meant to eavesdrop; she was just chatting with Orihime and helping her move into her room at Furin Hall. But then she'd heard the older woman talking with Rukia and Ichigo, had even heard some yelling and laughter, and had gotten to the point where she couldn't resist...

...and now the brunette wished she'd just minded her own business and stuck with helping her friend.

Earlier today Tatsuki would have probably flipped out and stormed the room to declare her outrage, but right now she was just tired. She just wanted to finish helping her friend and then go home and get some rest.

And besides, it was sensei's room and sensei's guests; Tatsuki had absolutely no right to do anything drastic.

And she knew Feng-sensei would take care of things.

But it was still depressing, finding out that things might have gotten that far between Ichigo and that..._skank_ was the only word Tatsuki could think of...

It as much as helping Orihime was making her tired.

Right now she was outside near the gardens with Orihime, both having changed out of their uniforms to t-shirt and jeans for the move. She could see Orihime's eyes widen at the news of Rukia's...'activities' with Ichigo, and then narrow in thought.

"I see...I guess that means Kurosaki-kun's experienced now, doesn't it...?"

Tatsuki's jaw dropped a bit as she heard her friend, and then she thought about the words and tone in her friend's voice.

Orihime didn't sound worried at all, nor even upset. She actually sounded like a woman who had made up her mind about something...

"What, you're finally going to try to get serious with him, even after that-?"

"Tatsuki-chan... If Kurosaki-kun wants to do something like that, that's his business. It just means I have to work harder, that's all."

Tatsuki stood there for a minute, utterly blown away by her friend's attitude, but also seriously impressed by it. So she was going to-

"Tatsuki-chan...Inoue-san...what are you two doing here?"

The two girls turned to see Shaolin standing a few feet away, clad in one of her fancier kimonos. It made Tatsuki smirk a little at the sight; she didn't really see sensei as the 'court lady' type, but here the woman was proving her wrong.

"We were just talking..."

And then she saw Ichigo and Rukia not too far behind the older woman, looking surprised and maybe just a little...frightened...

She could just imagine why...

She couldn't help but smile at Rukia; the girl seemed more than a little chastened, more than a little lost.

"Talking about what?"

Orihime turned and bowed to Shaolin.

"If it's all right, I'm going to be staying here for a couple of weeks..."

A tired but genuine smile came over the older woman's lips.

"Of course, Inoue-san; you're welcome here any time. Of course, you'll be having company..."

Tatsuki just froze, and then looked at Rukia.

"She's staying here...?"

The older woman gave a weary sigh and nodded her head slowly.

"For a couple or three weeks; I'm not sure exactly. Is there a problem with that?"

Tatsuki wasn't quite sure what to say; sensei looked really tired, and it was only just a strong feeling, but...

Shaolin turned towards Ichigo.

"Go home, Ichigo, we can talk more later."

He looked like he wanted to protest, but then thought better of it. Instead he simply said his goodbyes and left, and then Shaolin turned her attention to Tatsuki.

"Let's go have a chat, Tatsuki-chan."

Gently resting a hand on Tatsuki's shoulder, the older woman led her away from Orihime and Rukia, off to one of the gardens that had been planted in Furin Hall.

Tatsuki had heard that Shaolin had planted these herself when she'd first come, which made the fact that they were here all the more special; she felt like she was going to be let in on some secret.

"Tatsuki-chan, what's been bothering you?"

The younger woman hesitated; now she felt silly burdening her sensei with her problems. It was clear the older woman had a lot on her mind right now. But since they were here...

"I don't trust her...I've got a bad feeling...especially with her and Orihime being in the same place for any length of time.

Shaolin arched an eyebrow.

"You mean you don't trust me to keep the peace?"

The tone was playful, but the words set Tatsuki on edge.

"No, no sensei...it's just...I don't know..."

She paced forward a little and then turned to face Shaolin.

"Something's been going on that's got me..."

"Scared...?"

Tatsuki looked to the ground and nodded.

"I really lost it today, didn't I?"

"I've done it too; don't feel too bad about it. Just don't let it conquer you, okay?"

She felt her sensei's hand on her shoulder again, and looked up to see Shaolin smiling at her.

"Trust me, Tatsuki-chan: I won't let anything happen to your friend. Okay?"

They were simple words, but for some reason they made Tatsuki feel better. She nodded her head.

"But why does Rukia have to stay here? Weren't you going to ship her out of town or something?"

The older woman shook her head.

"Tatsuki-chan...it isn't that simple. In fact, it's kind of...complicated. But I am trying to deal with the situation. Please trust me, okay?"

The idea that Feng-sensei would have to say something like that sent a thrill of horror down Tatsuki's spine, and she immediately regretted her words.

"I'm sorry sensei...I'll..."

"Don't worry about it, just get some rest, and I'll see you later."

Tatsuki bowed again.

"Thank you, sensei."

She watched as the older woman turned and made her way out of the garden, and then just stood there to breath in the perfume of the flowers...

And then she felt like someone was watching her.

She turned to one of the bushes and saw a pair of yellow eyes, and then smiled at the black cat she could see had been gazing on her and sensei during their conversation.

Tatsuki waved at it, and it seemed genuinely surprised to have been noticed; the eyes quickly disappeared and Tatsuki knew she was alone again.

She just shook her head at the encounter and then looked up at the moon.

"Please tell me this whole thing isn't going to blow up..."

They'd already had their lives torn apart by another stranger, twelve years ago...

* * *

><p>As Shaolin saw Orihime off to bed and made her way to the other spare room she had, he eyes wandered over to her 'guest'. Rukia kept looking to the ground like some kind of prisoner heading to her cell, barely noticing when they came to the door and entered the plain-looking room.<p>

It reminded Shaolin of...

The ex-shinigami shook the thought from her head and pointed off to one side.

"The closet is there; there are some futons and a blanket that should be good enough for you to sleep on. There's also some clothes that should fit you in there."

She'd have to apologize to Hiyori later, but it was that or have Rukia raiding...she didn't want to think about where the younger woman was currently getting her apparel.

Rukia nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"And one more thing..."

The girl turned around to face Shaolin, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Tatsuki-chan's been acting weird, agitated... What happened yesterday evening that you didn't tell me about?"

Rukia didn't look like she wanted to say anything, as though she knew she was in deep trouble and didn't want to make things worse. Then she seemed to gather her courage and sighed.

"I'm...a kidou-user...at least, I used to be. My kidou's been failing the last couple of days..."

The assassin arched an eyebrow.

"_So you were right about her."_

The ex-shinigami tried to soften her expression so as not to completely scare the girl. What Rukia was admitting had to be hard; it would be like Shaolin admitting she'd been physically crippled.

"I don't know why...it's just... It failed on me again last night, when that attack came at those girls' apartment..."

"And you couldn't heal Inoue-san...?"

Rukia nodded sadly.

"The best I could do, the best I could think of was to have Ichigo break her Chain and then perform the konsou on her. And before you say anything, it was far from my first choice...it was just the only thing I could think of given the situation..."

She had a haunted look in her eyes.

"If I had known someone like you was around, I would have gone to you, but..."

Rukia struggled for a moment, and then seemed to give up. Instead, the young shinigami backed away from Shaolin a little, and then knelt and bowed her head to the floor.

"Please forgive me for the trouble I have caused you, ma'am."

Shaolin actually wasn't quite sure what to say.

Was the girl telling the truth? She seemed sincere enough...

She restrained herself from sighing at the thought and merely nodded her head, even though she knew Rukia couldn't see the action.

"I accept your apology...for now."

Rukia motioned her head in a nod, and then got back to her feet.

"Thank you, ma'am. And before you leave, may I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

Now the younger woman looked a little nervous.

"Are you one of the Quincy?"

It was the first time someone had directly asked her that in a long time. It wasn't true, of course but...

"Maybe. Is that really important, though?"

Rukia seemed to think about that for a moment, and then shook her head.

"No, I guess it isn't..."

"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

Rukia nodded and started heading for the closet, while Shaolin headed for the exit. As she made it to the door, the ex-shinigami took a moment to look at the scene her guest provided.

She could tell Rukia still had some pride left by the way she moved and worked; but it was also obvious that she knew she was trapped by fate, and that there was nothing she could do now but accept it and do the best she could.

All alone in a strange world, among people she had already angered...

It made Shaolin think back to when she was like that a century ago.

Had she...?

Had she done the same thing to Yoruichi-sama all those years ago...?

Was that why Shaolin was here now, in this place and time, guarding over another lost child...?

* * *

><p>Author's Note: It occurred to me that there was something wrong with Rukia giving Ichigo half her powers. If you did that, you'd get one wounded shinigami at half-strength, and a second weak shinigami who didn't know what they were doing. Not a very good tactic when facing off against a Hollow.<p>

But if it were one shinigami transferring their power to another one...that makes a bit more sense, as the second shinigami would be powered up.

And since couple of people asked, I don't think the Hougyoku gave Ichigo and his friends their powers (if I did write that, then I goofed, and I'm sorry); I think it was more a matter of triggering their powers before they would have naturally.

As for process...notice that Ichigo, Chad and Orihime were each in a similar position when they had their powers activate – each had a friend or loved one in danger, each felt they were powerless to do anything about it, but each wanted to do something about the situation 'if only...'. The Hougyoku merely provided the needed spark to activate their powers at that moment.

Tatsuki, on the other hand, always believed in her abilities during this time; she never felt like she needed outside help, and so her potential was never triggered. After the Substitute Shinigami arc, the Hougyoku wasn't around to do any kind of triggering, even though Tatsuki was starting to feel like she couldn't handle what was going on.

The reason for her breakdown (I'm thinking it's more post-traumatic stress as opposed to anything else) is partly a device I'm using so that she will have that kind of need in this time-line, and therefore her potential will be realized.

As for the fact that the Hougyoku is dormant and can't do anything...I'm going with the idea that Kisuke lied about that. Not for any malevolent reason, though; we're dealing with Sosuke Aizen, after all.

The evidence for this will start appearing in the next chapter.

* * *

><p>And now for the reviews:<p>

_cerokun_: Thanks, I'm really glad you like the story so much. And as for the whole 'canon' thing...oops... :)

_EVA-Saiyajin_: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you liked the chapter. As for what Shaolin's going to do to Rukia and Ichigo...you've already seen what she's going to be doing to Rukia; Ichigo's going to be handled in the next few chapters. And Shaolin doing something amazing...I definitely have something planned, but I also have to be careful to find some way to hamstring her for a good deal of the story. After all, she has the power to simply sit Ichigo in a corner and take care of all the Hollows in Karakura herself (theoretically, anyway).

_thisisCMpunk_: I'm glad you like the story, but I'm sorry to say this isn't a Ichigo/Sui-Feng story. If you still want to continue reading it, I'll be glad to have you. If you don't, well...this is an entirely voluntary site; if you don't like something, you have no obligations to read it.

_Ability King KK_: Well, Sui-Feng had some good moments in her life in this AU; it hasn't all been one long tragedy. As for her and Rukia, I hope this chapter was worth the wait.

_HopingFate_: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you like the story. I may not have gotten many reviews compared to others of this length, but I think part of that is simply that there aren't that many chapters yet. And I do appreciate each one I get; it's a satisfying feeling knowing someone liked my work enough to send a response to it.

_Love Psycho_: Thanks for the review and the magic pie. Rukia _is_ being pretty nasty, but there is a reason for it, I assure you (after all, this is an AU). As for Isshin coming clean...well notice that in the canon series he makes a point of _avoiding_ the other shinigami like the plague (I think Rukia's an exception because she obviously doesn't know who he is). And training I intend to begin addressing in the next chapter (Shaolin won't be training him quite yet, but the subject will definitely be on her mind over the next few chapters).

_crossxavier_: Thanks for the review, and it seems like that for poor Shaolin doesn't it? She's among humans and yet not one of them, and any friendships she makes would be temporary (which is one reason she'd have a relationship with another of her kind). It would be enough to make a person go bananas, wouldn't it? :) As for the conflict between Rukia and Shaolin...well, you've seen that it's going to continue.

_The Fifth Horseman_: Thank you for the detailed and insightful review, I really appreciate it. Shaolin does indeed have problems relating to being alone and also finding a place for herself; I'm thinking by now she's given up on any big dreams and is just trying to focus on some little personal dreams of hers. Of course, that's her problem in a nutshell, trying to see things as she thinks they should be, rather than as they are.

And I'm sorry about any grammatical mistakes that I made in the last chapter or this one, for that matter; I try to put this thing through the spell-checker, but apparently LibreOffice doesn't have much of a grammar-checker. And sorry about the confusion over the breakdown; I think I have a problem with when to divulge information and where, and I'm still working on that.

As for the Hougyoku...see my Author's Note above.

_HedonismBot_: Thanks for all the praise, and don't worry about taking your time reviewing. As you can see, I've kind of been taking my time uploading. In any case, I plan to keep continuing with this story, and I hope I'm able to keep up with your expectations. :)


	11. A Bee and Old Friends

Disclaimer: Bleach and all characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump Magazine. This story is being written not for profit, but for the hopeful enjoyment of myself and the people who read this.

Reviews are very welcome, as is constructive criticism (if you see a problem of any kind, don't hesitate to say so; just please don't be abusive or insulting with such comments). Flames will be ignored.

A welcome to new Story Alert and Favorite Story entries on my list: _Fangking2_, _jmwigington_, _StrykrWolf_, _zenihua_, _reality_ _deviant_, _Not-Always-Fanfiction_, _camiraven_, _Gafoman_, _HopefulEchoe_, _Forget Logic. Punch Stuff_, _maangel09_, _Phaere_ and _darkwolf300_. Also, I'd like to thank neko-chama for putting me on Author Alert.

I'd also like to offer a sincere apology to _I-might-BE-slightly-INSANE_; apparently there was a glitch in the e-mail system (or maybe I wasn't looking closely enough), and I didn't notice that you had also put me on the Favorites list last August. I hope you can forgive me for the oversight.

And with that out of the way, here comes the next chapter...

* * *

><p>Feng Shaolin couldn't help but feel a little melancholy sometimes when she came to the shrine in the center of Karakura.<p>

A single piece of stone, with a set of characters carved into it; it seemed alone, even among the buildings which had grown up around the site and the people who passed by it on the surrounding streets.

Death among life.

Something spiritual among the mundane.

Abandoned by the people who'd made it.

It was, she supposed, a fitting monument to one like herself.

At least it was well-maintained, the stone kept clean and the grass neat, though no one came here anymore to make offerings. Most people probably thought it a curiosity and passed it by.

Which was just as well to the assassin and ex-shinigami; she had no intention of making prayers and offerings to this place either.

After all, it would be the height of arrogance to make prayers to one's self.

And she wasn't welcome among the people who'd built it those decades before. She didn't blame the Ishida; Sokken had had good reason for his suspicions then and Ryuuken good reason now. But it still hurt...

Shaolin shook her head and checked her watch. It was almost lunchtime, a good time for a meeting, and this was as good a place as any for such a thing. She just hoped she could pry those two out of their...

Then she saw Isshin walking towards her from the west, appearing in the crowd almost as if by magic. He was dressed semi-casually – brown jacket and pants that weren't quite a suit but headed in that direction. Apparently being a lord of the Soul Society, however briefly, hadn't been something he was unaffected by no matter what he might say.

He was still some distance away, but Shaolin could help but wonder at how Isshin...fit in with the humans here. One of the few upsides of the sacrifice he'd made all those years ago, she supposed: he was...one of them, far more so than she or the Vizards or any of the others they knew could be.

Even when she'd tried her hand at it, decades ago or now, she'd never quite been able to be one of the crowd. Sometimes she wondered what it was like and felt just a little jealousy for Isshin and Masaki...

Shaolin shook the idle thought from her head and went back to the here and now; the meeting was too important for her to fade out now.

That feeling was reinforced as she took a closer look at Isshin. She could see even from here that the man was affecting a distracted smile, as though he were just on a casual stroll for lunch. But she'd known the man long enough to see the tension in his movements, and the way his path was making straight for the meeting.

Shaolin felt sorry about that; she knew he had a busy schedule as a doctor, and she was pulling him away from people who might need him.

But seeing as how this concerned his son's life...

She turned to the opposite direct, towards the east, and looked through the mill of people to see where the prospective third member of the group was. OR if he'd even bothered to show up...

And then she saw the green-and-white striped hat bobbing through the throngs and looked below it.

As he emerged into view, Shaolin couldn't help but shake her head at the fact that Kisuke was still in the outfit he wore at his shop. And he still had that same mischievous smile on his face; in contrast to Isshin, the blond ex-taichou seemed to be in no particular hurry, and truly was just enjoying the chance to stroll through town.

As much as Isshin had seemed to become a part of Karakura, Kisuke was a foreigner in this land; the scientist only lived here, rather than fully belonged to it. He was still very much a creature of Soul Society, however much he might deny it.

The fact that they were coming together again for the first time in...had it really been six years?...made her a little nervous. But she felt she didn't have much choice. The situation had gotten way outside Shaolin's level of expertise, but perhaps not Kisuke's, and Isshin would have to know about this sooner or later; better the bad news come from a friend.

And better to get it all over with in one meeting.

And there was one other thing she needed to find out; she hoped she was wrong, but...

She waited until the two men came up to to where she was, their steps slowing a little as they noticed each other. As she expected, Kisuke's expression didn't change; whether it was just a mask or the blond man didn't really care didn't matter to her. She did suspect the latter, though; it usually took a lot to get Urahara Kisuke visibly upset.

Isshin was a different story. The look on his face soured slightly as he took in his...former equal, maybe? Whatever the case, it was obvious that he still hadn't gotten over...whatever had come between the two of them.

She suspected it was Masaki's death; everything bad around here seemed to have that event somewhere in its matrix.

It was most emphatically why Ryuuken wasn't here.

Isshin nodded his head, and kept a cool look on the scientist.

"Urahara-san."

Kisuke's smile widened a little and he nodded his head in return.

"Kurosaki-san. It's been a while, hasn't it? But I take it not long enough, huh?"

Isshin paused at that, seeming to think about whether it was worth getting into an argument here. And then he sighed and relaxed a little.

He turned his attention to Shaolin.

"What did you want to talk to us about, Shaolin-san?"

Kisuke joined the other man in looking at her.

"You weren't very specific, but I take it this is important? I mean, you almost threatened to haul me out of my shop with a tow truck..."

Even as a small smirk crossed Isshin's face at the image, Shaolin sighed, looked down at the ground and then nodded.

"Look, I'm glad you're both here, and I apologize for the short notice, but..."

She looked back up into the doctor's eyes.

"Isshin-san, you're son...he's...sort of gone into the family business..."

The older man just stopped and arched an eyebrow.

"He's taking up medicine...?"

Shaolin would have hurt him for that quip, except that even as he said it she could hear the note of worry in his voice, and see that same emotion in his eyes.

She could also see the desire for her to tell him that what he was thinking wasn't true.

The assassin shook her head.

"No, Ichigo's become a shinigami."

Silence descended on the shrine.

Shaolin could see Kisuke had his head bowed in thought; his mind was almost certainly readying itself for the battery of questions Shaolin was sure to ask him. Isshin, on the other hand, looked more like he was simply trying to absorb this change in his family's life.

He looked back up to her.

"Are you sure?"

The assassin sighed and nodded her head.

"I'm sorry, Isshin-san, but I've seen him in the shihakushou; there's no doubt what he's become."

The man looked as much confused as worried.

"I know he's been keeping odd hours...did it happen-?"

"About a week ago? Yes, it did."

She spent the next few minutes telling them what she had managed to learn from Rukia and Ichigo the night before. Over the course of the story, she could see Kisuke looking at her with keen interest, his head bobbing from time to time during her telling.

As soon as she had finished mentioning the attack on his home, a wave of shame rolled through Shaolin. She stopped her narrative and offered a deep bow to Isshin, tears beginning to well in her eyes as she did so.

"Shaolin...?"

"I know I don't deserve it, Isshin-san, but please forgive me."

She could almost feel the man's confusion.

"For what...?"

Shaolin swallowed; it was all she could do to stand there. She wanted to run, or to simply act like a normal person apologizing to a friend.

But there was that old instruction, something she would never get rid of.

And it said this was the least she could do when one of her station was facing a lord of a great Clan, even if he had officially given up the title.

"I have failed your family, Isshin-san. While I know you are perfectly capable of defending your own home, I still should have been here for you. I shouldn't have gone...I..."

She stopped as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up and saw Isshin gently smiling at her.

"Shao-chan, you have nothing to be upset about. I don't blame you for what others did, so please don't blame yourself."

Then he flashed a lop-sided grin.

"Now will you get up. You're starting to make a scene..."

Shaolin started, straightened herself, and then took a look around. More than a few people had stopped briefly to look at the scene, and the thought made her face flush. Somehow she managed to resist the impulse to bow again in apology for bowing and...

A small giggle escaped her lips, and she found her mood considerably lightened; she saw that both men were smiling at her now.

"Thank you, Isshin."

The man nodded at her.

"Anytime. Now you were saying about my son and this newcomer...?"

Shaolin nodded and she continued her story, judiciously leaving out some of the worst parts of what had happened. They didn't need to know about Rin, for example...

Of course, Isshin reacted predictably when he figured out they were talking about a _female_ shinigami...

"'She'? Am I to understand that my boy has been spending all this time with a member of the opposite sex?"

All of a sudden, he threw his hands upwards, and looked towards the heavens.

"Oh Masaki! The day we've feared for years has come to pass...owww!"

Some part of Shaolin's mind found it weird that she was slamming her heel into the foot of a man she was bowing to not long before. But she supposed that was a statement about their relationship.

"Be quiet, you idiot! _Gods_...and you were talking about _me_ making a scene...!"

Isshin just threw a smile at her scowl as he tried to pretend he hadn't been hurt.

"Well, this is pretty important. And I take it they were doing something naughty since you wouldn't say anything about it?"

Shaolin all of a sudden felt very uncomfortable; not as much as with the details of the attack on the Kurosakis, but still...

Well, he'd probably find out sometime.

She made a show of being reluctant to say anything; not that it was much of a show. Kisuke looked on with interest and amusement at her discomfort.

"She's been spending the last week in his closet...so he claims..."

"And I suppose the little minx is getting in and out through the window?"

To her utter astonishment, Isshin actually looked bemused more than anything else; she felt like hitting him.

"Isshin-san, don't you understand what this means? The woman's been turning your son into a...juvenile delinquent, on top of the whole shinigami thing."

The man simply shook his head and continued with his wistful smile.

"Nah...I used to do stuff like that all the time when I was...well, sort of his age. Only I was the one sneaking in and out of the bedrooms."

"And the fact that a shinigami is right where she can bust your ass if she sees you?"

Isshin shrugged, a slight amount of sobriety leaking into his expression.

"What do you expect me to do about, Shaolin-san? I don't have my powers anymore; I couldn't see her if I wanted to, and if she's in a gigai, I won't be able to tell her apart from a normal human..."

For a moment, he looked like he wanted to laugh.

"I won't know what's going on until she literally knocks on my door, so why worry too much about it?"

Shaolin found she couldn't argue with that kind of logic, and so she didn't; she just continued with her story, making sure to try and keep her voice down. Most people didn't care what happened at this shrine, but she didn't want to take too many chances...

When she was done, Kisuke slowly shook his head.

"Sounds like those two did get themselves into a pickle, didn't they?"

Isshin, for his part, looked like he wasn't quite sure how to act. He did have a troubled brow, and he was shaking his head a little, but at the same time Shaolin could see some resignation and more than a little pride in his eyes.

"So...what's going on, exactly? Is he...dead or something?"

The ex-shinigami's heart sank as she heard the words.

"I'm...not entirely sure, Isshin-san... As far as I can tell, he's alive; his mortal body seems to be all right and functioning, though I haven't really given him a physical or anything."

Kisuke's smile turned a little evil.

"Aw really, Shaolin-san, I mean-"

"If you even start going in that direction, Urahara Kisuke, I will kick your ass all the way back to your shop. Do you hear me?"

The blond scientist took one look at the glare she was giving him, another at Isshin's own dark look, and then tipped his hat in acknowledgment.

"Right, no teasing. Totally serious now."

Shaolin held her glare at him for another moment, and then sighed.

"Anyway, Ichigo's body may be fine, but when he leaves it to do his shinigami thing, there's no Chain attaching the two. To put it bluntly, I can't answer whether your son is alive or dead...or..."

She shrugged for emphasis.

Isshin nodded in understanding and turned his attention to the other male in the group.

"Well, Urahara-san, what do you think?"

Kisuke put a hand to his chin and made a show of thinking about it.

"Well...to tell the truth, I have no absolute idea. I've never heard of anything like this; a human with the soul of a shinigami..."

They stood in silence, letting the man think; he could be annoying at times, but Urahara Kisuke was the smartest man Shaolin knew.

If he couldn't figure out...

"All right, try this one on: we know that to become a shinigami, you have to be dead first. And beyond that is the fact of the graduation ritual which makes you a shinigami as opposed to just some normal human with fancy duds."

Shaolin nodded at that.

"Yeah, and...? Ichigo's never gone through that."

Kisuke nodded.

"True, but having some shinigami energies plowing through him like that...maybe he's almost a shinigami."

The assassin arched an eyebrow.

"'Almost' a shinigami? Kisuke-san, the boy does have a zanpaktou...the biggest one I've seen in a long time."

Isshin puffed out his chest and held the lapels of his jacket.

"He gets that from his old man..."

It took effort for Shaolin to reach her hand up that high, but she managed to slap the Kurosaki patriarch across the face hard enough for him to stumble a little. As he was getting his bearing again and rubbing the side of his face, Shaolin just stood and shook her head.

"Good gods, Masaki-san's son has got one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel, and you two..."

Kisuke held up his hands in surrender.

"Easy, easy Shaolin-san...tell me, what did his zanpaktou look like?"

Shaolin was still upset, but she thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know...big, not very well-formed, though it was capable of killing Hollows well enough..."

"But did it have his...'aura' about it?"

Shaolin thought some more, and then began nodding her head slowly.

"Yeah...in fact, I could feel some of what I assumed was her reiatsu coming from him and the blade."

Kisuke nodded in turn, his smile visibly brightening.

"I think what might be happening is our new friend's...shinigami-ness, for lack of a better term...got superimposed on Ichigo. Kind of like an outfit being put on a paper doll."

The assassin tried very hard not to think about the implications that metaphor suggested about her friend's private life. She could see that Isshin was trying to do the same.

"So...he's not really a shinigami, then?"

Kisuke shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not; it's as good an explanation as I can come up with until I can actually take a look at them. How's the newbie, anyway?"

Shaolin shrugged herself, though hers was non-committal.

"Fine, I guess, considering she's been effectively crippled. And believe me, she's not faking anything; I saw her in spirit form. All she's got is her modesty."

The blond scientist arched an eyebrow.

"You took her out of her gigai?"

"Only for about a minute yesterday. I kind of lost patience with her and..."

She shook her head in frustration and looked at him squarely.

"Kisuke, I need to ask you something. What did she threaten you with that you'd hand something like that over to her?"

Kisuke looked a little uncomfortable.

"Well...actually, she didn't threaten me..."

Shaolin stared at him, and she could see Isshin inwardly groaning.

"You gave it to her sight unseen, didn't you?"

"Well...yeah, she looked like she needed something like that, and far be it for me to not help a woman down on her luck..."

The assassin sighed and started massaging her brow.

"And the fact that you'd be getting a favor to turn in later had nothing to do with it...?"

Kisuke nodded his head from side to side.

"Well, there is that, yes..."

Now Isshin was shaking his head.

"And let me guess: you didn't let anyone know about this because you were afraid you'd get the blame."

"And people say I'm the smartest man in the room."

Shaolin just shook her head at that.

"Well, whatever...she's a mess with or without the gigai..."

Isshin looked suspiciously thoughtful at this point.

"You know, with all this talk, you still haven't told me this mystery girl's name..."

Shaolin gave Isshin an unsure look.

"That's kind of why I brought you here; I figured you might be able to tell me something of her. Her name's Kuchiki Rukia..."

Apparently Isshin knew the name; the fact that he looked like someone had hit him in the gut with a sledgehammer indicated such. And even though Shaolin knew the man could outwardly over-react, she knew he wasn't faking this.

She waited until the man's face gained a little color again and then pinned her friend with her gaze; she ignored Kisuke's now disturbed look.

"So you know who I'm dealing with?"

Isshin absently nodded his head, a shocked look still on his face.

"_Gods_...that's Byakuya's girl..."

Some part of Shaolin sank as she heard the words. Being a personal attendant of the head of a Great Clan meant she'd actually met a number of the important people in Soul Society; she'd actually gotten to know Shiba Kukaku fairly well.

Byakuya...she didn't need to have personal acquaintance to remember vital statistics...though she could hear a distant bell being rung...

"You mean to tell me that we're dealing with his little sister? Please tell me he has children..."

Isshin just shook his head, and now the assassin started to feel frustrated as she realized what was going on.

"So you mean to tell me we're dealing with the gods-damned _heir_ _apparent_ of the Kuchiki?"

The look on both mens' faces said as much.

Shaolin wasn't sure whether she wanted to scream in frustration or shoot herself.

"One more thing her highness has dropped in my lap..."

Kisuke gently cleared his throat.

"This walking disaster area, she's where...?"

Shaolin smiled a little at the designation used for the Kuchiki princess; it was an apt enough term.

"She's staying with me for now, at least until we can get this whole mess sorted out."

Kisuke arched an eyebrow.

"Wait a minute... This Kuchiki girl nearly gets the Kurosakis killed – at least by your account – drags Ichigo into 'illegal' Hollow-hunting... You know, independent killing of Hollows isn't against the law."

Shaolin gave the man a dark look.

"I'm sure the Ishidas will be very happy to hear that."

Kisuke almost flinched.

"Sorry. Anyway, she's caused you no end of pain, and you seem to be close to hating her...so your solution is to invite her into your home?"

The assassin sighed and shook her head.

"Believe me, I don't want to. But what else am I going to do? The girl's a born troublemaker, and she's...spunky."

Kisuke's smile turned impish.

"Kind of like you used to be, huh?"

"Yeah...I guess. Which means she's not going to stay away from Ichigo. And I can't very well lock her up thanks to the gigai you gave her; people have seen her and know her, and they'll expect a woman 'her age' to come to school."

Isshin shrugged, looking like he'd gotten over most of his shock.

"She could just be a truant; Ichigo's done it often enough."

Shaolin shook her head.

"Not this girl. She looks like she has something to prove, and there's no way I'm going to be able to keep her away from Ichigo and Hollow-hunting unless I lock her in my own closet or something."

She shrugged.

"So until this mess is cleared up, it's the best I figure I can do."

She didn't even begin to mention Tatsuki's probable feelings on the matter. But she could see from Isshin's still-pale face that he had some of her concerns.

"Were they...doing anything...?"

Shaolin shook her head, and was rewarded with Isshin relaxing visibly.

"I took a look at her last night, not that she was very happy about it. Didn't really care, though; better me than the Kuchiki."

She shook her head bemusedly.

"I'm happy to report, Isshin-san that your son and that girl are two of the most clueless young people I've ever seen. Two attractive people in close proximity to each other for a week, and the obvious didn't occur to them until I mentioned it last night..."

Isshin took a moment to absorb that, and then sighed.

"Thank you. To think that was happening in my own house..."

Shaolin gave a strained smile.

"You gave me the impression that was no big deal... Oh, wait a minute, does it have to do with the fact that Lord Byakuya would want to have some words with your son...?"

Isshin nodded his head absently, and it made Shaolin sigh again.

"Do you know anything about the girl?"

The man paused, his face in an expression of thought.

"I never met her personally, though you know I heard the name mentioned."

Shaolin smiled.

"I gathered as much..."

Isshin nodded his head a little.

"I don't know all that much about her, either. She was adopted about...fifty years ago, straight out of the Academy; there's a tale or two that he even attended her graduating class personally."

That made Shaolin arch an eyebrow.

"What was so special about her?"

Isshin shrugged.

"Don't know; I never really cared to know the Kuchiki well. They were a bunch of self-righteous snobs as far as our...as far as _I_ was concerned. Though I did hear a rumor or two that she wasn't from the Seireitei..."

Now Shaolin started staring at him.

"Are you sure?"

The tall man shrugged again.

"Like I said, it was just rumors, stuff you hear people saying as you pass down the street on your way to more important things. But I do know Byakuya was _very_ protective of the girl for some reason."

Shaolin nodded at that and filed it away; she'd figured as much, considering how her luck was running.

"Who does she serve under? What Bantai?"

Isshin's face brightened noticeably.

"Thirteenth, if I remember correctly – Ukitake-taichou's command."

Shaolin started smiling a little as well; she hadn't really known the man, but she knew that Ukitake Juushiro was a highly respected taichou and overall a good man. The only flaw had been his constant ill health, which meant someone else usually had to run things for him.

To think he'd gotten stuck with a twit like Rukia...

"Let me guess: Kuchiki-taichou sent his little sister there to be well-taken care of?"

"Pretty much, as far as I know; she didn't even have to pass the entrance exams. 'Nii-sama' took care of everything."

The assassin sighed and shook her head in disgust.

"So she is the favored child. I would have thought better of the Kuchiki."

Isshin just shrugged at the suggestion.

"You'll get no complaints from me. But we need to worry more about what's happening here. About how long do we have until the end of her tour?"

She told him and he started looking sour again.

"Damn it, why did Kaien have to go and get himself killed...?"

Shaolin arched an eyebrow.

"On the job?"

The man nodded.

"A Hollow attacked the barracks, or so I heard through Urahara-san here."

The blond man gave a tip of the hat to his counterpart.

"I was happy to oblige, though I still wish you could have gone to the funeral; I probably could have gotten you there..."

Isshin huffed.

"Yeah, and I would have been in hock to you for the rest of my existence."

Kisuke made a show of thinking on that and then shook his head.

"Not so, my friend...probably only half your existence...but it would have been-"

"Guys, focus."

Shaolin didn't need this turning into sniping contest; she needed information, and the stern look she gave the two men caused them to settle down. Isshin looked at her a little sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. Anyway, I'm not worried about Ukitake-taichou coming after us; he's a pretty decent sort, even-tempered. He'd probably try to find some way to get this mess cleared up without it becoming public knowledge."

Shaolin nodded her head.

"That's a good idea... Kisuke-san, can you-?"

The blond scientist quickly held up his hands to ward off her question.

"Uh...that's probably not going to work out, Shaolin-chan. I'll see what I can do, but sneaking someone into Soul Society is one thing; carrying on correspondence with a taichou, especially one who isn't exactly made for 'secret rendezvous' type stuff...well, you get the point..."

Isshin held up a hand to stop Kisuke.

"There's also the fact that I'm pretty sure who's running things in 13-Bantai right now: a pair of knuckleheads who would do anything to keep their taichou's good name clean."

Shaolin arched an eyebrow in interest.

"So I might have to deal with them?"

Isshin put a hand to his chin.

"Maybe... It's not that they're incompetent; they're just really over-enthusiastic. And like I said, losing the sister to Kuchiki Byakuya..."

"The heir apparent to one of the Great Clans..."

Isshin shook his head and then nodded it.

"Yeah...well they might be crazy enough to do something. And without their taichou's knowledge or permission, I might add."

Shaolin could feel her shoulders slump and a sigh escape her lips.

"Great. I know I should have expected something like that, but still..."

"One more thing for you to worry about, huh?"

The assassin nodded at Kisuke's words, and then turned her attention to him.

"Kisuke-san, I'm not joking here. I need your help, as much as you can give me."

The scientist stopped cold at Shaolin's words and their tone, and took a moment to study her.

"You're dead serious, aren't you?"

Kisuke tapped his cane on the ground a couple of times, and she could see the wheels turning in his head.

"I'll do what I can...it's still going to cost you, though..."

Shaolin just closed her eyes at that.

"Kisuke-san, you know money's no object here, and you know I can pay. And I can pull favors if I have to-"

"Okay, okay, I get the point."

His words may have been blunt, but their gentle tone and the smile Kisuke gave with them helped calm Shaolin. He took a moment to think.

"I'll see what I can do. I'll have to run a few tests on Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-hime, examine them...it'll probably take a couple of days for me to get set up. And I'll probably not be available while I'm doing it."

His smile got a little sheepish.

"You know how I am when I get involved in a project, don't you Shaolin-chan?"

The ex-shinigami smiled in gratitude and bowed to him.

"Thank you, Kisuke-san. It means a lot to me...and I'm sure it will mean a lot to Masaki-san."

As she looked up, she could see the mention of the woman's name had disturbed the men a little. She wasn't surprised at that, and maybe they were only reacting to Shaolin's attitude.

Whatever it was, they quickly recovered; in fact, Isshin's face started showing some curiosity.

"Do you mind if I ask a question, Shaolin-san, before we all depart?"

She shook her head.

"How's my son been doing...as a shinigami, I mean?"

Shaolin started at the question, and then sighed as she tried to think of what to tell him.

"Honestly, he's not very good."

Isshin shrugged lightly.

"Well, I'm sure he'd be green; I mean he wasn't trained to do stuff like that."

The assassin shook her head vigorously.

"Isshin, the kid may have power and martial arts skill, but that's all he has. He has no training of any kind in swordplay, and even his mentality in that department sucks; he reminds me of the last Zaraki-taichou, in fact."

Both men grimaced, and Kisuke slowly shook his head.

"That bad, huh?"

Shaolin made a face of her own as she realized the insult she leveled against her friend's son, but she had to be truthful to him about this.

"He's not meant to be a shinigami, guys. Even though he has raw potential, it'd take decades to get him to the point where he could take on the kind of things Soul Society would send after him. And trust me, they would send something after him."

Kisuke gave her an appraising look.

"So you're not going to train him, are you?"

Shaolin stared at him.

"What could I teach him in two or three weeks that would do any good? The Gotei 13 would just keep sending people until he was dead. The only sane option is getting him back to normal as quickly as possible."

Both men nodded sagely at that, and then a feeling came over Shaolin that the meeting was just about over. Isshin was looking at his watch and Kisuke had the feel about him of someone who was going to fade into the background he came from.

She took the hint and bowed to the two men.

"Guys, thank you very much for having come here. I hope I haven't taken up too much of your time."

Kisuke's smile broadened a little.

"Never, Shaolin-chan. And before I leave, I take it you're going to be needing that new gigai soon...?"

He pointed to the slight 'burn scars' on the back of her hands, showing through the long-sleeved shirt she was wearing. Isshin now noticed them and looked at her with concern, but she waved it off.

"I just got too aggressive in exterminating some Hollows yesterday, that's all..."

Kisuke nodded at that.

"Nevertheless, that's not reparable damage. You'll need a new one..."

Shaolin arched an eyebrow.

"Which you'll provide when I come in with Ichigo and Kuchiki-hime? I'll make sure I have the payment for that as well."

Kisuke gave his merchant's smile, and looked like he was trying to keep from rubbing his hands together.

"Good, good. I'll see you in a couple or three days, then. Good seeing you, Isshin-san."

He tipped his hat in the doctor's direction, and then started walking off back in the direction of his shop. Despite the fact that his outfit still stuck out, the man managed to vanish into the crowd.

"Glad I don't have to deal with him."

Shaolin turned her attention back to Isshin, who managed to regain some of his earlier distaste. Then he noticed she was watching and he sighed.

"I need to get going, too; who what'll happen while I'm away from the office."

The assassin nodded in understanding, and then paused as she saw him still looking at her.

"What?"

Now it was Isshin's turn to bow, though it wasn't as deep as hers had been.

"Shaolin-san, would you please watch over my son. I know you want to do it already, but I would be very appreciative."

The gesture and words took The ex-shinigami by surprise, and then she recovered and smile at him, bowing in return. And this time she didn't care what it looked like to the people on the street.

"Of course, Isshin-san. I will do so for you and Masaki-san."

They both straightened, and then Isshin gave a lopsided smile.

"And now that that's over, I'd better leave you to...whatever you're doing right now."

He turned and then made his own way into the streets, disappearing into the crowd much as Kisuke had done.

The thought made her sigh in frustration.

"Urahara Kisuke..."

"_He did not say anything about the nature of the gigai, did he?"_

Shaolin closed her eyes and shook his head.

"No he didn't, Hana...no he didn't..."

The ex-shinigami had hoped Kisuke would enlighten her, even by accident, about what was going on, but...

"_Are you recovered from last night?"_

"Yes, I am, more or less..."

She hadn't told Kisuke or Isshin that she'd taken over Rukia's gigai for a moment the night before. It wasn't a comfortable practice; it was not unlike trying on someone else's clothes. But she figured it was the fastest and least humiliating way to prove that Ichigo and Rukia hadn't been up to any funny business.

Now she had a pretty good idea why Rukia hadn't gotten her powers back. And it meant that Rukia would have been stuck having Ichigo doing her dirty work for her.

"A gigai that drains your reiatsu instead of just cloaking it...what the hell is Kisuke-san _thinking_, doing that to a Kuchiki?"

"_Is she going to be all right?"_

Shaolin shrugged.

"Not if she's stuck in there long enough; I'm fine, but it was consuming reiatsu at a pretty high rate. If this keeps up, she'll be reduced to the power level of a human in no time."

_"And the Kuchiki will want answers _when_, not if, they arrive to collect their wayward daughter..."_

"As well as a certain ex-taichou's head on a platter."

There was another pause.

_"Why not take her out of it permanently right now? Or is that...?"_

"I don't want to tip my hand just yet, Hana. If I ask for another gigai for her, then Kisuke-san will know what I know."

The gikongan paused at the seriousness of Shaolin's words.

"_Do you think jii-sama...?"_

Shaolin shook her head, even as she looked again at the shrine's marker stone.

"Urahara Kisuke is the most apolitical man I know; all he cares about is his shop, his lab and an occasional trip to remind him what sunlight is. There's no way _he's_ up to something, but there is one person I can think of who'd be able to get him to do something like that."

There was a pause.

"_Shihouin Yoruichi."_

Shaolin closed her eyes and sighed. A sour taste formed in the back of her mouth.

"Yeah, Hana...I've Rukia...Soul Society, maybe...some new Hollow that making my teeth chatter..."

She sighed and shook her head.

"And now Yoruichi-sama playing some kind of game."

It was all she could think of, and she hoped she was wrong at that. For now Shaolin would just sit back and let things play out; she had enough to worry about as it was.

She just hoped whatever was going on, Ichigo's friends would be all right...

* * *

><p>"Hey, Arisawa-san, how's Ichigo doing?"<p>

_Oh gods, not again..._

Tatsuki tried to screw her face into a confidence she didn't really feel, and turned to the other student.

"How would I know, I haven't talked to him this morning."

The girl just smirked evilly.

"Aww, you're not his favorite anymore...?"

The girl looked at Orihime and Rukia, who were sitting only a few feet away from Tatsuki.

"I wonder how he figures who's turn it-"

Tatsuki almost immediately set down her lunch, got up off the roof and and started cracking her knuckles. She made sure to also give the girl in front of her a glare sufficient to start someone's clothes on fire.

"Get the hell out of here...now! Before I decide to-"

"Tatsuki-chan, please let's not get violent."

The brunette stopped at her friend's voice and looked back. Orihime was sitting next to where Tatsuki had been, her pose calm and serene as was her expression. There was, however, a sternness in her eyes that said she'd try to enforce the peace if she wanted to.

The look startled Tatsuki. She hadn't seen something like that since...

The girl Tatsuki had been threatening took the hint and started leaving the area, though she did flash a mean smirk in their direction.

"Have fun, girls!"

For just a moment, Tatsuki wanted to take the bitch apart regardless of Orihime's feelings, but then she decided it wasn't worth it and sat back down. She took a moment to calm herself again, and then tore into her food so she could try and keep her mind on something other than her new 'status'.

She guessed she'd adapt to it or find a way to get past the title...eventually... Though it did irk her that she'd have the rumors and gossip without any tangible benefits.

Which made her think of another rumor that was being told around the quad.

Tatsuki looked to on side and found herself still blown away that she was actually sitting _near_ Kuchiki Rukia. Orihime had noticed the smaller girl up on the roof, immediately gone and sat down beside her over Rukia's mild protest, and Tatsuki was left to go sit beside the two of them to keep an eye on her friend.

As she watched them, the brunette's mind turned to this morning, when she went to pick Orihime up from Furin Hall. It was seriously out of her way to school, but she didn't mind the extra exercise, and she definitely had wanted to make sure her friend was all right.

And there, to Tatsuki's utter astonishment, had been a well-rested and chipper Orihime, chatting it up with Rukia.

Or, trying to, at least.

Even now, as Tatsuki looked at the other two girls next to her, she could see that Orihime was the one doing most of the talking, all smiles and sunshine.

Rukia was just sitting there sullenly, picking at her lunch and doing her best not to be completely rude. It would have been insulting except that there was something in her demeanor that said she was lost in thought as much as she was in the middle of a sulk.

Whatever; it didn't matter to Tatsuki what was going on with the girl, as long as Orihime was all right.

Now she just had to make sure to chase away all the people ribbing the three of them about being 'Ichigo's Angels'...

And keep herself from staring at Rukia's features in the sunlight too much. She was short...like sensei...and if she looked at it right, Rukia did kind of look...

"So, Kuchiki-san, you never did say where you were from..."

Orihime's words broke through Tatsuki's line of thought, as did the fact that Rukia flinched when she heard them.

She doubted Rukia would answer the question, but if she did...

Tatsuki wanted to know why Feng-sensei had given Rukia food and lodging in her home, rather than take the transfer student and 'transfer' her out of Karakura.

Rukia seemed to come a little more alive at the question, though more from nervousness than anything else.

"Well...uhm...I've kind of been around and..."

Even as Rukia struggled to come up with a good answer, the rumor entered into Tatsuki's mind fully.

Something about Rukia being Feng-sensei's love-child...

Orihime smiled warmly, her eyes full of quiet understanding.

"Don't worry, Kuchiki-san, I wasn't meaning to pry too much. I know what it's like to live alone."

Now Rukia really looked unnerved.

"W-what makes you think...?"

Orihime shrugged, and her expression went back to it's normal sunny self.

"I can see it in your eyes, Kuchiki-san; I've lived alone nii-san passed away, and...Kuchiki-san...?

Now Rukia was slightly pale; she covered her shock up pretty well, but Tatsuki was watching closely enough to catch it.

There was fear there, as though Rukia was scared of her 'companions' finding something out, but there was also...something else there, something Tatsuki couldn't quite place.

Tatsuki had overheard the night before that Rukia had a brother, presumably living or else Ichigo wouldn't have had a fit but...

"Hey, Rukia, got a minute?"

Tatsuki's thoughts disappeared as she saw Ichigo start coming up towards them, an unreadable scowl on his face.

She inwardly sighed at the sight; he was in one of his moods again.

Orihime, of course, completely ignored this fact and flashed one of her bright smiles at the young man.

"Hi, Kurosaki-kun!"

Ichigo only nodded his head at Orihime imperceptibly, but still kept his eyes fixed on Rukia, who in turn was keeping her eyes fixed on her lunch.

"Could it wait...?"

Ichigo just crossed his arms and continued to look down on Rukia.

"No, it can't."

For a moment, Rukia seemed to ignore Ichigo. And as Tatsuki looked, she began to realize that the girl was more lost in thought than actively ignoring the young man.

Finally, Rukia sighed and nodded, and then set her lunch down on the floor. Still not looking up at Ichigo, she stood up and started walking to him like a prisoner; she flashed a sullen glare at him, and his expression softened before he turned and started leading Rukia off towards the roof entrance.

"Hey, Ichigo, what'cha gonna do with the transfer student?"

Tatsuki almost inwardly groaned as heard the suggestive tone in Keigo's voice. The idiot was coming up in front and to one side of the pair...

"None of your business, Keigo."

And right in the path of one of Ichigo's clothesline maneuvers.

Keigo went to the ground on his back, crying something about Ichigo being mean, while Ichigo and Rukia continued on their way. Mizuiro, as always, watched the whole show from a safe distance, a quite smile on his face.

Orihime watched the display in silence, a slightly worried look on her face. Tatsuki knew she was probably honestly worried about Rukia and what might be going on with her.

The ginger-haired student turned to Tatsuki and set her lunch down.

"Tatsuki-chan, are you worried about Kurosaki-kun again?"

Tatsuki just froze at the words, as well as the tone; Orihime seemed to actually be a little bit annoyed now.

The brunette could feel a little shame seep into her and she set her own lunch down and sighed.

"Yeah, I am, and I'm worried about you, Orihime. I just don't want anything to happen to you two, that's all."

_Not that I'm sure I'd be able to do anything about it..._

Orihime thought for a moment, and then smiled brightly at her friend.

"Then go and see what they're doing. If you don't, you're just going to worry yourself to death."

Tatsuki stooped and thought for a moment.

"Orihime, what if-"

"I can take care of myself, Tatsuki-chan, don't worry. After all, you taught me how to do that."

_But you had it in you from the beginning, I..._

For another moment she felt like protesting, and then she nodded and stood up.

"If anything happens to you, 'Hime, I'm going to kick your butt at the next sparring practice."

"I'll be fine...now go."

Still feeling a boatload of reservations, Tatsuki headed to the roof entrance and then went into the building proper. A flight of stairs, and she could see Ichigo and Rukia headed off to somewhere; probably somewhere private.

Even as she followed, Tatsuki began to berate herself.

Gods, she felt like a snoop. There was no reason for this, and she wasn't usually the kind of person to go messing around in other peoples' lives.

But this was Ichigo, one of her oldest...she hoped they were still friends.

Sometimes it was hard to tell.

And she was leaving Orihime alone.

But there was just something...she just had to know...

She had to know Rukia wasn't someone who was going to tear their lives apart; she had to know what she was dealing with, to know if she could do anything.

Arisawa Tatsuki absolutely did not want to feel the kind of helplessness she felt six years ago.

She ignored the looks other people gave her as she tried to make her way through the hallways without her quarry seeing her. She just ignored most of them, giving the people who looked like they were going to say anything a furious glare that sent said people scurrying away.

Some part of her now actually appreciated what Feng-sensei had done the day before, calling her part of a 'harem'. Most people would just rib her about following Ichigo and Rukia around, and it would be annoying as hell.

But it also meant people would peg her as just a jealous rival to Rukia and leave the matter at that. If she was lucky, Rukia and Ichigo might think of it the same way.

"I wonder where they're going..."

Orihime's voice coming from behind her nearly made Tatsuki jump out of her skin. She turned and glared at her friend.

"What are you-?"

The ginger-haired student raised her hands defensively, a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry. I'm just kind of curious about what he wants with her too."

By now the brunette had calmed down; she took a quick look to make sure Ichigo and Rukia hadn't doubled back and then started forward again.

"I don't think it's the obvious; he had a serious look on his face."

She could almost feel Orihime nod.

"Yeah, kind of like yesterday... Probably has something to do with that 'job' she was mentioning."

Tatsuki sighed as they went around another bend in the hallway; she wondered where the hell they were going. Wherever it was, Ichigo wanted it to be private, which only underscored how serious this was.

Then something occurred to her.

"Hey Orihime...how did you get away from everyone on the roof?"

Now she could almost feel the other girl's smile on her back.

"Oh, I just started following Ichigo and you, and I told everyone I didn't want to be followed myself."

The casual and chipper tone of the girl's voice made Tatsuki start. She stopped and turned to look at Orihime who had an expression to match her tone.

"How did you do that?"

Now Orihime's smile widened and she shrugged.

"I just said so. Of course, Honshou-san wanted me to stay there, but I told her I wanted to be with you."

"And for her not to follow..."

Tatsuki became even more confused when her friend nodded her head.

"And she just let you do that?"

Now Orihime put a hand behind her head and her smile was sheepish again.

"Not really; she kind of wanted to...well, do what she always does...so I had to kick her butt. I mean that's what sensei told us earlier: if you don't like it, say so."

She frowned just a little bit.

"Honshou-san did take it pretty hard, though; she was crying and everything... I'll have to make it up to her somehow..."

Tatsuki was too busy shaking her head and trying to keep the image forming in her head...

"_I won't let you go with that horrible Arisawa woman, 'Hime, even if I have to force you to stay."_

_Orihime stood on the roof facing Chizuru. She bowed from the waist._

"_My apologies then, Honshou-san, but I'm going to have to kick your butt now..."_

_Before her opponent could react, the ginger-haired student straightened and hurled the side of her arm in a sweeping motion at Chizuru's neck. The redhead managed to grasp it, giving an evil smile..._

_Which melted away as Orihime leaped into the air, brought one leg up and twisted in the air. The impromptu roundhouse kick connected, sending Chizuru staggering backwards while Orihime landed on her feet, still with a sunny smile on her face._

"_I'm so very sorry, Honshou-san. Are you all right?"_

_The other girl, having gotten her bearings again, threw herself at Orihime, arms stretched out, hands aiming to grab Orihime's bust. A look of unfettered lust was on the redhead's face._

_Orihime simply turned around at the last second, and then grabbed one of Chizuru's arms. Using her body as a fulcrum, she hauled the redhead off the ground, over her head, and then onto the roof._

"_Please forgive me."_

_Then, while Chizuru still lay stunned on the roof, Orihime jumped up and threw her body, shoulder-first, onto the other girl's body, driving the air from her lungs._

"_Sorry."_

_Orihime picked herself up and watched her opponent for signs of a continued fight. But Chizuru was out of commission, still too stunned by both her defeat and the fact Orihime had inflicted it._

_Satisfied that her opponent was done, the ginger-haired student relaxed, straightened her outfit, and then bowed from the waist again._

"_Again, my sincere apologies Honshou-san. I'll try not to be so rough next time."_

_Then she turned to face the other students, who were looking at her with a mixture of awe and fear. All of them were taking care not to be too close to her, even as she continued to calmly smile at them._

"_Anyone else...?"_

The thought almost made Tatsuki want to laugh, and it certainly made her smile.

Orihime just looked at her with wide-eyed puzzlement.

"Tatsuki-chan, what is it?"

The brunette just shook her head a little, a mixture of pride and sadness filling her.

"Nothing, Orihime...it's just I'm beginning to wonder if you might not be needing me anymore..."

The girl just gave Tatsuki a disapproving stare.

"Don't be ridiculous; you're my best friend. I'll always need you, like...for slumber parties!"

Now Tatsuki almost did laugh, but she managed to contain it as her original mission came back to her.

"C'mon, lets see what's going on with Ichigo."

They made their way further through the building, to an area that wasn't occupied by students or faculty, and it frustrated Tatsuki that she didn't see any sign of Ichigo or Rukia. Where had they...?

Then she saw Orihime standing near a doorway, looking at it with certainty.

"What?"

The ginger-haired student waved Tatsuki over and pointed at the door.

"They're in there."

Even as she came up to Orihime, Tatsuki gave her friend a look that expressed her disbelief.

"You're sure? How?"

Orihime shrugged.

"I don't know; I just know Kurosaki-kun is in there, and Kuchiki-san is probably with him."

"You aren't using one of your widgets this time?"

Orihime shook her head, her attention still on the door.

"I didn't fell like doing that after last time; they're still in the closet in the room Feng-sensei let me have..."

Before Tatsuki could ask anything else, Orihime put her hand on the door and slid it open a crack.

"What are you doing?"

Orihime flashed the brunette a grin.

"I want to know what Kuchiki-san's secret is. If I can copy it, I can...well..."

"And if we get busted?"

The ginger-haired student shrugged.

"I don't really care. I've made up my mind about what I want to do."

_Good to hear, Orihime..._

Tatsuki came up to the edge of the door and turned her ear towards the crack, straining to make out the sounds of the two people inside. Even though the room and the hallway were empty, they were obviously being careful.

"This is about last night, isn't it?"

There was a pause, and they could almost feel Ichigo nod, and then Rukia sighed.

"What about it?"

"Who are you?"

Tatsuki's eyes went wide; she couldn't believe her luck on this. If she could just...

She heard Rukia laugh a little, though there was no mirth in it.

"So that's it, huh? … You already know who I am..."

Tatsuki opened the door a little further and shifted her angle. She could see Rukia and Ichigo in the far corner of the room, and right now he was shaking his head.

"Not really. You lied to me about what was going on, you didn't tell me you had a brother...what else haven't you been telling me?"

Rukia looked troubled for a moment, like she didn't want to say anything. For some reason, Tatsuki was inclined to believe that the girl wasn't very open as a matter of course as much as from being devious.

Then she sighed and crossed her arms.

"All right. Your obasan pretty much told you everything, except...I'm from a very important clan, Ichigo. I'm the closet thing to a princess you're ever going to run into..."

Even as she heard a small gasp escape Orihime's lips, Tatsuki's mind tried to fit that into her knowledge of Rukia. She would have completely discounted the matter, but from here she could almost see Rukia's face, and there was enough seriousness in it to convince Tatsuki that Rukia at least thought she was telling the truth.

Ichigo. For his part, took a moment to consider it.

"You don't look like a princess..."

Now Rukia looked highly annoyed.

"You don't exactly look like a prince yourself, you know..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Rukia caught herself, and then turned a little away from him.

"It's nothing...it's..."

Rukia stopped again, seemed to gather herself, and then proceeded to bow to Ichigo, a move that seemed to startle the young man as much as it did Tatsuki.

"Ichigo...I'm sorry about the mess I've gotten you into...but I really need your help. I'm a dead woman if you decide not to help me out...I..."

Ichigo sighed, and then turned his head to one side in a gesture Tatsuki knew all to well.

"Don't worry about it."

Tatsuki suppressed the urge to sigh in defeat; she had been right about the look. For her part, Rukia was stunned enough to rise out of her bow and stare at him.

"What...?"

"I said don't worry about it. What's done is done, and besides, I have a job to do."

Rukia looked honestly unsure.

"But your obasan..."

"Is just going to have to live with it."

The diminutive student just stood there, disbelief plainly etched on her features. It took her a moment to get her mouth to work.

"I don't know what to say..."

Before Orihime could do anything, Tatsuki quietly closed the door and started heading back for the now-far away roof entrance. Her friend stayed at the door for a moment, and then hurried to her side.

"Tatsuki-chan, what...?"

"I know you don't care, but I'd rather not get caught by them or anyone else. Besides, this is getting a little too weird. Can you imagine her lying like that...?'

By now they had turned a corner and Tatsuki felt like they were in safer territory; they weren't as likely to get accused of spying if Ichigo or Rukia came by them.

Orihime apparently felt the same way, as she stopped and started thinking.

"What?"

There was a certain amount of worry in Tatsuki as she saw the look of concentration in her friend's expression.

"She's a princess...and yet she works...and she's got kind of a weird vibe..."

Tatsuki braced herself to see what Orihime came up with.

"Yeah?"

Then the light came on in Orihime's brain.

"Maybe she's a magic princess from a far-off land, like the ones in those anime shows we used to watch? And she's here to fight monsters, and...what?"

Tatsuki's had been trying to keep her stare from being to disbelieving but...

"If that's true, Orihime, then where's her wand or charm, or...whatever...?"

The ginger-haired student thought about that for a moment.

"Maybe she lost it. Or maybe it got broken and the magic got picked up by Kurosaki-kun and..."

Tatsuki held her hands up to stop her friend from going on.

"I get the picture...trust me."

A picture involving Rukia dressed up in a tutu, and Ichigo in a tuxedo and top hat...

"I wonder if they're recruiting..."

Tatsuki couldn't help but sigh at the thoughtful look on her friend's face. Now she was beginning to see Orihime in a tutu...and Chizuru...and herself...

She shook her head clear and started walking again.

"C'mon, Orihime, lets go back to lunch."

The ginger-haired student nodded her head.

"Okay."

Tatsuki was glad her friend had such a candy-coated imagination; she had some darker thoughts on the matter. Rukia was obviously not a foreigner, and if she really were something like a princess, that meant...

Tatsuki turned another corner and almost ran into a wall of gray uniform...

Which Orihime finished smashing her into.

The brunette had enough time to look up and see who it was, though considering she was pressed up against a school uniform she had a pretty good idea.

The bronzed face of Sado Yasutora looked down on her and smiled, even as the two girls managed to back up away from him.

"Sorry about that, Chad."

The almost-giant calmly shook his head.

"Don't worry about it."

He motioned an arm in the direction the two girls had just come in; Tatsuki couldn't help but notice the small birdcage in his hand.

"You checking up on Ichigo?"

Both girls nodded and it caused Chad to frown.

"They talking about anything?"

"You're worried about him, too?"

Chad just shrugged a little.

"Don't know. He seems all right, but I've never seen him that interested in a girl before."

Tatsuki looked back the way she'd come.

"Yeah, well...Rukia seems to be 'special'."

She could hear Orihime sigh a little.

"Well I think she's just fine, thank you; it's nothing I can't handle. And she seems to be pretty nice, I just have to get to know her..."

Tatsuki thought to respond, and then shook her head.

"Whatever...I'm going back to lunch before period runs out."

Chad nodded and then held up the birdcage, smiling as he did so.

"Before you do that, did you want to see my new friend?"

The girls looked inside the cage and saw a white parrot sitting there, looking back at them with curious interest. Orihime let out a gasp of delight.

"Oh, he's wonderful, Sado-san. What's his name?"

"My name's Yuuichi, what's yours...?"

Even as Orihime proceeded to make friends, a cold shiver ran through Tatsuki's spine.

There was something about the parrot, about the way it looked at her and Orihime with eyes that had a human intelligence... And there was something about the bird that...

Something in her was trying to...match it, repel it...something...

She knew it was crazy, but she didn't like the bird, didn't want it around her. It made her feel that maybe Ichigo wasn't the only one who was going to need watching...

* * *

><p>Author's notes: I hope I don't start anything with some of this, but I wanted to share some observations that came to me during the writing of this story.<p>

I've heard that the shinigamis' longevity is due to their spiritual power. Since Isshin had his power stripped from him, he likely aged as a human for the last 20 years; when he first arrived on Earth, he would have been a young man (about Byakuya's age or so). This would explain a lot in the series, such as the fact that the Shibas never commented on Ichigo looking like Kaien (they never did hear the boy was a human, and so wouldn't think to connect him to their 20-something brother).

Also, I know it's a bit of a stretch, but I think shinigami could use each others' gigai; there isn't anything physically preventing it in IMHO, though it would be...'interesting', to say the least.

And I hope I've given a reason (however clumsy) that something's not quite right concerning the story of why Rukia was placed in a power-_draining_ gigai...

* * *

><p>And with that in mind, I have a couple of questions to ask:<p>

What's considered a good update rate (beyond ASAP)? I've been concerned for a while that I haven't been updating fast enough, but I'm in a little bit of a bubble on this, so I wanted to make sure.

I also wanted to ask if people thought this story as a whole was going along okay; I'll admit that plotting isn't my strongest suit, which is one reason why I'm writing this story, so any input on that would be helpful as well.

* * *

><p>And now for the reviews:<p>

_Love_ _Psycho_: Thanks for the review. Don't worry, Shaolin will be doing the training...and she will eventually be training him. She just needs a little 'convincing'...

_EVA-Saiyajin_: I'm glad you liked the chapter; interestingly, some of the stuff in there (such as Rukia having gotten Ichigo's family into trouble in the first place) only came to me as I was writing it. I'm sorry if I confused you about Shaolin taking in Rukia; hopefully I've addressed that in this chapter. And as for Ichigo and Rukia's relationship in this timeline...you'll all just have to wait and see...

_Ability King KK_: I'm glad the chapter met with your approval. As for Byakuya and Renji...I have an interesting twist on that, due to events in this timeline (as long as my plot doesn't blow up in my face, that is...)

_reality deviant_: I'm always glad to see someone new review, so thank you for it and for taking the time to write it. I'm happy you like the way the story's done; it's something I worry about sometimes, because I'd hate to be wasting peoples' time on this (though I know reading these fanfics is entirely voluntary, I'd hate to disappoint at this part of the journey).

Your question about the lieutenant of 2nd Company makes me realize I really should have done a better job in Chapter 3 (I'll admit I suffer from 'mysterious stranger syndrome' in my writing). For the record, Mei Xing is only the 4th Seat, and the lieutenant...it's not Omaeda, but I'll show who it is later.

The hopefully soon-to-be-less-mysterious Karl will be shown later in this part of the arc (the next couple or three flashbacks with Shaolin will show who he is); he had a very large impact on the young Shaolin's life, and the direction it took.

The Bounts...it's going to be a while (even if I can increase my update rate), though I have a few ideas about that if and when I get to them (I always did think it was nuts that a literal handful of people tried to charge Soul Society...)

And I will attempt to increase my update rate (it isn't my writing speed that's a problem, it has more to do with life).

_HopefulEchoe_: Thanks for the praise. I'm glad that you're enjoying this, and as for Yoruichi being here...I plan on having her show up in a while, don't worry.

_The Fifth Horseman_: I'm happy to see your review, and I'm glad you like the chapter. I think both Shaolin and Ichigo have good reason to be relieved at their connection; after all, Ichigo's got a lot to think about and Shaolin wants to protect her friend's child. But that isn't going to mean their relationship will go completely smoothly.

And as you can see, I was indeed planning on having Ichigo meeting with Kisuke when Shaolin gets her new gigai (in fact, I have some other craziness planned for that point, though it won't happen for several more chapters). As for Yoruichi, like I said above, she'll be showing up in a while; she had her reasons for acting the way she did in the past (I think I figured out why she left Sui-Feng behind in the canon timeline), and she's well aware of how Shaolin probably feels. So she'll be more than a little careful about her first meeting with Ichigo and his friends.


	12. A Human Bee

Disclaimer: Bleach and all the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump. This fanfic is being written merely for the enjoyment of myself and whoever happens to like it.

Reviews would be most welcome, as would constructive criticism. In the case of the later, you can be brutally honest, but please don't be abusive. And flames will be ignored.

Sorry about missing last month; life's been interfering with my writing, as well as the fact that I've had to rewrite this chapter a couple of times (and I'm still not entirely sure about it...). Well, I'm sure if there are problems with it, you'll all tell me about it :)

Some new people have joined the readership of this story; welcome to _srsly srs_, _Evangeline43_, _NinjaGogeta_, _Maugan Ra_, _Hayden Shaolin David_, _Basskreig_ and _signorUebelst_ for putting me on Favorite Story and/or Story Alert status.

I'd also very much like to thank _Hunter 152_ for putting me on Favorite Author, and _The Fifth Horseman_, _mkt_ and _winter winds_ for putting me on Author Alert status.

It makes me feel good to think that, even with what I consider a fairly tardy update rate, people continue to like this story and actually want to see more from me.

And with that, here's the next chapter...

* * *

><p><em>Nagasaki.<em>

_Even as she made her way through the streets of the city, Shaolin couldn't help but shake her head at that._

_This was as far as she'd made it on her way to her land of dreams?_

_And now she'd run into something worse._

_The Hollow that was chasing her wasn't terribly powerful; she doubted that it had absorbed that many souls over its life. But it was fearsome looking, and it was fast enough to give her a good chase down that streets of the city._

_As she moved through the alleyway and went across a wider street, Shaolin instinctively threw her hand up to her collarbone, and berated herself for another problem plaguing her now._

_She'd just had to lose it, hadn't she?_

_The little charm Urahara-san had given her. A device meant to allow her to leave her gigai at will._

_She knew how to get into it, that was easy enough. But to exit she needed help, and now..._

_Someone had stolen it, stolen it and taken her body to a river and dumped it._

_She'd taken care of them later, but her means of leaving her body had been taken from her._

_It was go back to the Shoten and face the wrath of the Vizards and possibly Yoruichi-sama, or strike out on her own as a human._

_She'd chosen the latter path._

_And now she was in this mess._

_The young shinigami kept running as fast as she could, dodging a swipe from the thing behind her; tentacle or arm or whatever, she couldn't tell. It had just come out of nowhere, like all Hollows did, and she was just trying to run for dear life._

_She cursed this physical body, and to an extent cursed its creator. Running through the streets of this town felt like running through neck deep honey; she hadn't thought her limbs could ever feel this heavy, and it took great effort to just keep going. She was sure her current speed was as much momentum as actual effort._

_And she was helpless._

_Shunpo was quite obviously out, and she had no zanpaktou; she assumed Suzumebachi was a part of the gigai right now._

_She ran through another alley, turned her head and saw the thing obliterating the distance between them._

_To her shame, Shaolin screamed like some helpless damsel and threw herself to the ground. The Hollow sailed over her, crashing into the ground in front of her. Even as it did so, she picked herself up, ran a little ways back and then started down a side alley, hoping maybe she could lose the beast._

_She could feel the sweat pouring own her as she ran, could feel the burning sensation in her lungs and her limbs as she tried to get away._

_She tried to think of some other way to take this thing down before it ate her._

_Kidou...no, there wasn't time and she wasn't sure it would work. She'd have to test whether it would work..._

_A howl ripped through the side alley._

_...she'd test kidou if she ever got the chance._

_That just left martial arts..._

_Shaolin almost wanted to laugh at that one._

_Hand chop a Hollow, in this lead-assed body, with her reflexes slowed and her reiatsu contained..._

_She might as well just stop and let the thing eat her-_

_A dark shadow appeared behind her, and he blood went cold. She could still smell reiatsu, and the thing's rank stench filled the narrow corridor she was in._

_She turned, already knowing the thing had somehow...flash stepped behind her._

_She threw herself to the side as it tried to swipe at her again, and then she brought herself into a standing position. She could see the monster barely fit into the alleyway, and even though technically it could phase through the walls, she knew it wouldn't be smart enough to think of that._

_But she was also tired of running. It was disgraceful, and it wasn't going to work._

_No one was going to help her, so she'd have to do this herself._

_She let out what she hoped was a sufficiently intimidating war-cry, and then leaped toward the creature, twisting in the air to throw her weight behind the kick she was directing at the side of the thing's head._

_She made contact..._

_And felt the pain tear through her leg as she hit something that might as well have been a brick wall._

_Shaolin felt herself fall to the ground in a daze, and she felt the creature grab her and throw her away from it. She hit one of the walls and then landed on the pavement, feeling the wind knocked out of her both times._

_Some part of Shaolin waited for the end to come, even as she tried to get her breath back. The sadistic bastard probably wanted her to know what was coming, to feel the full terror of being consumed._

_The young assassin managed to get onto her hands and knees, and then looked up at her would-be killer. It was some kind of four-legged thing, she could see now; something like a bulldog or a kirin, or..._

_It didn't matter; she was going to cease to exist, and the 'smile' on the thing's face said it was aware of this. It roared again, this time in triumph, even as Shaolin tried to pick herself up off the ground._

_Where was the shinigami assigned to this area? They would have to be disciplined for their tardiness..._

_The Hollow prepared itself to leap onto her, and Shaolin simply closed her eyes and waited for the end._

_And then she heard a whistling sound, and then the sound of an animal choking..._

_She opened her eyes again, and saw the beast standing in mid-pounce, a look of shock and horror in its eyes. And below it..._

_A shaft of blue-white light had pierced the creature through the chest; it had a strange, vibrating reiatsu, charged with the energy or this world. It seemed to sing...not a lovely tune, but still alluring in a way..._

_And then the shaft of light dissolved into a cloud of blue-white energy, and as it did, the Hollow was torn to pieces. A moment later, and there was nothing, not even the traces of spiritual energy to say something had ever been there._

_The creature had been erased from existence._

_Even as a cold chill went down Shaolin's spine, she could hear the sounds of footsteps running from the area._

_Human footsteps, and a human reiatsu that she could now begin to sense._

_She'd never seen the Quincy before, only heard about them; humans with the power to fight Hollows. They had been made out to sound like monsters, and the idea of having one's immortal soul obliterated confirmed that._

_It made her feel good, for once, to be stuck in this physical body. The next arrow might have been for her..._

_The young assassin managed to finish getting to her feet, and then started to head for one of the larger streets. She was in shock from the Hollow, the chase, the idea that there was a Quincy in the area..._

_The idea that a Quincy had just _saved_ her..._

_As least the body Urahara-san had given her was resilient; she was already beginning to catch her breath, and her muscles weren't as worn out as she had first thought. Maybe her situation wasn't so-_

_A pair of figures in black appeared right in front of her in the alleyway. It took all Shaolin could not to cry out in fright at the sight; she was supposed to be human, but there was also the fact that she didn't know if the Gotei 13 would be after her._

_And these people, clad head to toe in black, were obviously Onmitsukidou._

_It startled Shaolin to be seeing some of her former comrades after all this time, but there was also the fact that they were even here._

_Where the hell had they been when that Hollow had been chasing her down the streets of this city?_

_The two figures took a moment to look at the pavement, and for a moment Shaolin wondered what they were doing other than ignoring her._

_And then it hit her, even as she wanted to slap herself in the head._

_They were tracking the Quincy. The Quincy that had just been here and slain the Hollow in illegal fashion._

_The Quincy that had just saved her existence._

_She just stood there and waited as the two shinigami finished whatever they were doing and then started flash-stepping in the direction the Quincy had gone._

_And now Shaolin was alone, wondering what to do._

_She knew she should go back to where she was staying and forget all of this. That wasn't supposed to be her world anymore._

_But she couldn't just..._

_Cursing herself for a fool, Shaolin started racing in the direction the Quincy had gone in. It was easy enough for her to do so; the Quincy hadn't exactly covered their tracks, or even been able to, after using that arrow of theirs. She could see and smell the reiatsu of the living person...as well as the shinigami following him..._

_It would be easy to follow them all, and then..._

_What was she going to do?_

* * *

><p>"What the hell am I going to do, Hana?"<p>

Shaolin shook her head as she ran through the streets of Karakura yet again; at least it was late evening and there were few people to witness what was going on.

"_I have no idea, Shaolin. Spank Kuchiki-san when you get her home?"_

"The thought is beginning to occur to me."

Orihime had returned to Furin Hall alone, saying something about Rukia and Ichigo going off together again at the end of class period. She hadn't seemed to be upset at the idea, though there was something on her mind.

Shaolin figured it was something romantic in nature, but Hana any conversation with information she'd found.

And now the ex-shinigami was making her way through the streets of Karakura _again_, trying to find the young man and his 'companion' before it was too late.

She'd been afraid of something like this happening; after all, there were plenty of truly dangerous Hollows that hadn't yet reached the Menos level.

And one of them was here...

Shrieker, they called it, and she was sure Ichigo wouldn't be able to deal with something like that.

At least she could still feel his energy filling the area, which meant he was fine for now.

But then she felt a couple of other presences in the area; they were faint, almost hidden by the reiatsu coming from Ichigo, but she could feel them. They'd been following her for a while now, and that was the other part of what her earlier question to Hana had been about.

Shaolin was almost sure they were Onmitsukidou; no other shinigami would be coming out in pairs to a place like Karakura. And it depressed her that they were here...

There was no way she could hide Ichigo from them; almost certainly they knew of the boy by now due to his reiatsu and the fact he was a shinigami at the moment, and that meant Matsubayashi-taichou might know of him.

She had decided not to worry about that part right now and had simply made them follow her around, like she had so many others of her kind over the years.

"_Have you decided what to do about our guests?"_

"Yeah, get rid of them."

There was a pause.

"_Will that not bring the attention of the good taichou down on us?"_

Shaolin shrugged.

"Yes, it will. But we probably already have his attention if its come to this, and this will slow him down a little."

"_So we can deal with Shrieker."_

"So we can deal with him, yes. I need to get rid of something on my plate or I'm going to go nuts, Hana."

By now she had reached a small warehouse whose door had for some reason been left open a little. She didn't complain about the matter; if there was something to it, she'd deal with it when she could.

The assassin entered the place, making it clear to her pursuers where she had gone, while making it seem that she felt like she had lost them. She even stopped in the middle of the place and made a show of catching her breath, waiting for them.

She didn't have long to wait as a man clad in the head-to-toe black of the old Onmitsukidou almost teleported in front of her, sword drawn. Shaolin knew there was another one here, but they would only come after her one at a time – the Gotei 13 were stupid like that – so she focused on what she could see.

He came at her with his zanpaktou, and it made Shaolin almost shake her head at the frontal attack.

"You obviously don't know me..."

Even as the words left her lips, Shaolin drew her reishi blade and countered the other man's sword. It was easy enough since he probably thought he was dealing with a mere human, and as he focused on their crossed blades she stomped on one of his feet. Then she followed with a kick to the man's gut, sending him reeling back a couple of meters.

The second shinigami made his move now, flash-stepping behind Shaolin and trying to stab her with his blade. She dodged and grabbed his arm, thinking to herself about the fact that these people were so lax in their fighting technique.

She squeezed on her opponent's wrist, making him let go of the knife he'd been trying to stab her with, and then pulled forward and tossed him onto his companion. As she watched them crumple into a heap in front of her, the assassin could only feel pity and disgust.

"Matsubayashi-taichou must cry himself to sleep, what with these incompetents..."

"_These are not his best troops, Shaolin; do not forget that."_

The ex-shinigami nodded her head sadly.

"Yeah, you're right, Hana; _Yoruichi-sama _would be the one crying if she saw what had happened to her clan's old command. They don't even have the excuse of living soft like I have."

There was a pause as Shaolin made her way to the two men trying to pick themselves up off the floor.

"_I suppose we have been a little spoiled the last few decades, but still..."_

She at least felt a little better that they were from the older school, supposedly like her; the newer members of 2-Bantai used things like guns sometimes...

And they tended to be a hell of a lot smarter.

Thankfully, their master's attentions seemed to be fixated on Soul Society most of the time, so she usually only had to deal with clods like these.

She sighed as the two men disappeared in front of her eyes, and for just a moment she thought about letting them go. But she realized in the same instant that _they_ wouldn't let her go.

Beyond who they were was what they were: young and stupid, like many of the shinigami she'd seen the last few decades; kids who weren't all that much better than the Hollows one would find in the Living World.

"Are they gone?"

"_What do you think?"_

Shaolin nodded her head and began to prepare for the onslaught; she held the reishi blade in position so she could strike whoever came at her first, even as the two shinigami reappeared on either side of her.

The ex-shinigami arched an eyebrow.

"Still want to go along with this, boys?"

Apparently they did. Now having more of an idea of what they were facing, the two shinigami attacked her at once, which surprised her just a little bit.

Maybe they did have some of the new teaching. But it wasn't going to cave them.

She twisted around, dodging the blade coming at her from the left, even as she threw her weight behind her reishi blade and slashed across the man coming in from her right. He was moving too fast to adjust to the change in tactics; apparently he hadn't noticed the fact that their quarry knew what to expect.

Really, this was just like fighting those Hollows the other day in the field.

And as her blade tore through the man's neck, she knew it was just as big a waste of life.

The man cried out in surprise and horror, or tried to considering his state; his eyes were reflective of his mental state and as he fell to the floor, Shaolin could see a matching expression on his comrade's face.

The surviving shinigami looked like he was trying to figure out what to do, and then his expression hardened and he prepared to have another go at her.

Shaolin wasn't surprised by this, either: the Gotei 13 had a policy of aggressiveness that bordered on the mindless, and in any event, she knew that Matsubayashi Hachiro wouldn't accept incompetence from _any_ his people, nor would they accept it themselves.

The man in front of her would rather die than go back a failure.

With that in mind, she set herself in a stance, and the two assassins waited to see which would provide the first opening.

"_You know we are going to hear about this later, right?"_

Hana sounded a little depressed and Shaolin couldn't blame her friend.

Killing shinigami, even nobodies like these two, demanded retribution. The honor of Soul Society would be at stake.

Then again, they'd already tried that once with her and she was still in existence.

The sound of the phone ringing shattered the stalemate.

Shaolin's attention was shaken just a moment, and the shinigami saw his chance. He came at her shouting a war-cry, trying to make a severe slash against her mid-section.

She parried with the reishi blade and twisted her body as she did so; her opponent in turn tried to sweep her legs out from under her. She instead jumped into the air and managed to get around him, and then sliced several times with her blade.

It pleased her that, even in a damaged gigai, she could pull off such a maneuver, slicing through her enemy's wrists and ankles; a kick to the chest completed her attack, and sent the man flying through the air to land in a heap several meters away.

He'd been knocked out, but more than that he had been immobilized; with his tendons cut, he was useless to his former masters.

Shaolin felt a little pity now, but she also knew they wouldn't have shown _her_ mercy.

She walked up to him and ignored the still-ringing phone; the surviving Onmitsukidou agent was finally beginning to stir. Shaolin came up to him and knelt down, waiting until the man had regained some semblance of consciousness before doing anything.

His eyes finally opened and he looked up at her mostly with disdain, though there was a little respect now.

"Who are you, woman?"

The assassin locked eyes with the young man.

"I am the guardian of this place, boy. Why are you here?"

She was met only with stony-faced silence.

"_He is going to be difficult?"_

Shaolin looked the man over.

"I think he is."

The ex-shinigami examined the young man for a moment, and then materialized Suzumebachi, then slashed at one of the man's nerve clusters with the new blade. His scream filled the room.

This was another reason she didn't want Ichigo to get involved with the shinigami; things like this.

She waited until the man calmed down and then locked eyes with him again; she brandished Suzumebachi for effect.

"Now why were you sent? I already _know_ who likely sent you."

It took a moment, both for the shinigami to get over his obvious pain and to decide whether to still stay silent.

"We...had heard that...Shihouin Yoruichi was here..."

Shaolin nodded at that.

"And you came all this way to find her, right?"

"_Good luck on that one..."_

It took a moment, but the man nodded in turn.

"And what else?"

He shook his head, and suddenly the ex-shinigami felt very irritated.

"Nothing, I-"

"Then I have no further use for you."

She took Suzumebachi, drove it through the man's heart without preamble, and then pulled it out and dematerialized the blade.

"_That was _very_ pathetic."_

Two deaths and no useful information, other than the fact that 2-Bantai was interested in the goings on here, and that their focus was on Yoruichi-sama.

Well, at least they weren't after Ichigo...yet.

The phone at her side rang yet again, and by now Shaolin was getting tired of it; as she put away her swords, Shaolin reflected on the fact that the damn thing had nearly gotten her killed just now.

As she put it to her ear, the ex-shinigami hoped whatever was going on was important.

"Hello?"

"Well hello to you, too, dumb-ass!"

Shaolin's mood immediately changed as she heard Hiyori's voice.

"Sorry, Hiyori, I've just had a couple of bad days is all."

The assassin made her way to the door of the building, putting a little distance between herself and the mess she had made. No one was really going to see it for a while, but it helped her peace of mind to get away from such things.

"Only a couple, Shao? Maybe I should come down there..._to Karakura_...and we can really make a mess."

Shaolin actually winced at the tone of Hiyori's voice, and then remembered herself.

"I got a call saying there were Hollows in Karakura, Hiyori."

She could almost hear her friend sigh on the other end.

"And naturally you rushed right on over to see if your precious Ichi-kun was all right-"

The ex-shinigami frowned into the phone.

"Don't start on that, you little..."

"Shao...this is exactly the kind of crap me and the others have told you about again and again. Don't get too friendly with the humans; it will bite you on the butt. Like it's obviously doing right now."

Shaolin stopped for a moment on that; she understood their point, especially now, but...

"The boy's special, Hiyori, he's-"

"Yeah, I know, he's got an ass-load of spiritual power, and he's all that a bowl of ramen, and-"

"And he's now a shinigami thanks to a certain Kuchiki Rukia."

Now there was a long pause, and the assassin could only guess what her friend's expression looked like.

"Okay...that's not good. How'd that happen?"

Shaolin gave Hiyori the quick run-down on what had happened. Then she waited for Hiyori's response.

"You know, you have a problem."

"Yeah...yeah, I understand, but..."

Shaolin could just see Hiyori shaking her head and getting one of her sandals ready to slap something. Probably Shaolin's head if the smaller woman could keep up.

"Don't you dare 'but' me! Anyway, there's a solution to your problem. It involves guys, and this thing called 'getting intimate', and..."

"What?"

Even as she was exasperated by her friend's suggestion, Shaolin couldn't help but smile at it. They were something of an odd couple, but they fit each other quite well.

"You've been goo-goo over kids for years, Shao; remember the last time we traveled together?"

Shaolin lowered her head at the memories that came back.

"Yeah...I did get us into trouble, didn't I?"

"Look, there's nothing wrong with that, but if you're that interested then just adopt the kid or something and get it over with."

There was a pause, giving time for Shaolin to briefly look at the surviving shinigami. He still hadn't stirred from the beating he'd received.

"What are you doing now, or do I want to know?"

"_She is currently doing something we can not talk about on the phone."_

"Oh gods...then you're right, Hana, I don't want to know."

There was a long pause.

"Look, how about I come by in a few days; I can say I'm scouting out the location for Mr. 'Spirits be with You!' and I can see what the hell you've gotten yourself into this time."

The ex-shinigami smiled at that and nodded her head.

"Sounds good; maybe you can give Kisuke a heart attack while you're at it."

"_He seemed to be very interested in where you were."_

"Is that right...? Well then I'll definitely give him a hard time. Anyway, I'd better get going.

"Don't blow the place up until I get there, okay?"

All Shaolin could to was grin.

"I'll try, Hiyori, but I make no promises."

She put the phone away, and sighed.

Hiyori wasn't going to be happy with her over what had just happened, but Shaolin figured she could handle a sandal in the face.

She looked around the street she was on, trying to find the best way to continue after Ichigo-

A flash of intuition raged through Shaolin, warning her of danger. She turned around, but not fast enough to feel the blow of a bullet hit her...

No...it wasn't a bullet, it was some sort of dart gun...

"_Shaolin, what happened?"_

She tried to answer, but couldn't; the drug was too fast-acting, and before she could do anything she was on the ground and going out like a light.

She could hear footsteps behind her, and then a soft female voice spoke in her ear.

"Be glad I don't kill you, one who walks with the Quincy..."

Shaolin tried to place the voice, but her brain was too addled by the drug; she found herself falling asleep with the words flooding her mind...

She did walk with Quincy, didn't she...?

Or at least had...

* * *

><p><em>Shaolin couldn't remember the last time she'd been this nervous.<em>

_She took a look around, her umpteenth time in several minutes, and hoped that her feelings weren't plastered on her face. It was just that..._

_She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to be here._

_The ballroom the...ex-shinigami, she supposed...was in wasn't as large as some she'd seen before. Nor was the party going on; as the right hand...former right hand...of the head of a Great Clan, she'd been to 'events' larger than this._

_But it had the same feel to it: lots of rich people with impressive pedigrees showing off to each other. They wore their fine clothes – western style tuxedos and evening dresses here in the British section of Hong Kong, as opposed to the kimonos of Soul Society – showed off their fine jewelry or talked about their latest 'achievements'..._

_She fingered the drink in her hand, again wondering what she was doing here._

_Most of the Europeans in this colony looked down on 'her kind', and while it grated she could handle it; she'd just been through much worse on the mainland._

_But now she was safe from the chaos and misery of an empire tearing itself apart; she could relax a little. And at least she'd profited from her excursion; when the world was coming down around your ears, no one missed a few valuables here and there._

_She glanced down at the black silk dress she was wearing for the occasion, recently purchased with proceeds from her 'escapades'. It went well with the silver pendant she was wearing, a pendant she brought her hand up to and gazed at for a moment._

_It couldn't replace the device she'd lost, but at least she felt a little less naked with it._

_But she still cursed herself for having been so stupid..._

_Now she was pretending to be exiled minor nobility from the mainland, wondering when someone would see through the ruse..._

_And wondering what she was doing in a place that didn't seem to want her, and that she didn't want to be in..._

_And she was-_

"_Pretending to be somebody important?"_

_Shaolin started and turned around to see..._

_Shihouin Yoruichi was standing almost right behind her, a sly smile to go with the drink in her hand. She was wearing a beautiful white silk dress and diamond jewelry that sparkled in the chandelier light._

She_ looked like she belonged here..._

_The former head of the Shihouin waited a moment, and then arched an eyebrow._

"_What? I asked you a simple question... What are you doing here?"_

_The high noblewoman didn't sound angry, really...just curious...and maybe a little annoyed to have run across her former apprentice during her travels. She was calm, though it was apparent to Shaolin that if she didn't answer, the great lady would leave of her own accord without a word._

_But the younger woman wanted to give an answer. She really did._

_Even with their reiatsu blocked by the gigai they wore, Shaolin could still feel her former mistress' charisma and confidence washing over the area. She could still feel the Shihouin heir's authority in the room, far exceeding Shaolin's own meager self._

_The young shinigami found her breathing and pulse begin to quicken, and it was only with some effort that she didn't start to panic a little._

_She couldn't help but feel very small next to the Shihouin heiress, and it was all she could do to _only_ lower her head in submission._

"_I...I'm here because...someone invited me, Yoruichi-sama..."_

_There was a pause; some part of Shaolin's soul picked up a little bit because she knew that she had caught Yoruichi's attention. Maybe...maybe she could keep the woman here for a little longer, bask a little more in her..._

"_Look up; you're supposed to be 'important', aren't you? You don't lower your head like that unless you have something to be ashamed of."_

_The words hit the younger shinigami like a sledgehammer; they were so...matter-of-fact and to the point. Shaolin couldn't think well enough to give an answer, and just stood there while her former mistress waited for an answer._

"_Do you have a reason to be ashamed?"_

_Shaolin thought for a moment. _Did_ she have something she was ashamed of?_

"_I...well...I don't know..."_

_It was a lie, of course._

_She'd failed to get Yoruichi-sama back. That was what she was ashamed of._

_But the woman in front of Shaolin didn't seem to be in a mood to hear that, so the young shinigami lied._

_In any event, Shaolin knew she had to at least look like something other than a reprimanded student. She took a deep breath, and then with some effort raised her head and started squaring her shoulders a little. When she finally managed to look the older woman in the eyes, she found the slightest smile on the Shihouin heiress' face._

"_There. See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"_

_They both stood there for a moment, almost looking like equals. Shaolin felt herself calming down a little, felt herself become a little more comfortable around Yoruichi._

_The older shinigami waited patiently until her former student had finished getting herself back together._

"_Now...you were invited by who, exactly?"_

_Shaolin started feeling uncomfortable again, but this time she took a breath and calmed herself._

"_I don't know. The card didn't say; it just told me to be here tonight."_

_Yoruichi elegantly raised an eyebrow in interest._

"_Well...maybe we can find your 'secret admirer' while we're here..."_

_She made a show of looking around the crowded room, eyes going from guest to guest. Shaolin just stood there, trying not to be embarrassed as the noblewoman made a show of pointing at some random guest._

"_Hmm...maybe him..."_

_She lazily turned and then pointed at someone else._

"_Or maybe him..."_

"_Yoruichi-sama."_

_The woman ignored her. Shaolin waited a moment, and then summoned her courage again; she found it somewhat easier this time._

"_Have I done something to offend you? I mean right now..."_

_The older woman stopped what she was doing and turned her full attention back to Shaolin; the younger shinigami found it like having the attention of the sun, and she had to resist the instinct to bow or show some form of fealty._

_The Shihouin heiress simply had a look of innocence on her face._

"_Why would you think that?"_

_Shaolin steadied herself; she had opened this door, and now she had to go through it._

"_You have a million places you'd probably rather be, but instead you spend your time talking to me...talking to someone who..."_

_The young shinigami waited for a response, hiding her nervousness with a sip of her almost forgotten drink; to her surprise, her mouth was parched, and the liquid was quite welcome._

_Yoruichi took her time, looking like she was thinking about the matter, but not terribly hard._

"_Would you believe it was just random chance that I just happened to come to this party, saw you here, and decided to have a chat with someone I used to know?"_

_Again, Shaolin was stunned by her former mistress' words, though not as badly as before. It was just the realization that she was not really that important a part of Yoruichi-sama's life...hurt..._

"_Anyway, beyond that I'm just curious what your plans are. And I don't mean for the night."_

_The bronze noblewoman locked eyes with Shaolin, and then took a step towards her. Even though her expression hadn't changed, there was a new seriousness in the older shinigami's eyes..._

"_Once you're done with this party, your midnight assignation, what are you going to do with yourself, where are you going to go, what do you plan to make of this chance you've been given?"_

_The young shinigami stopped dead, her mind trying to come up with a suitable answer._

"_I..."_

_Why was she here...in this place...in this world...? The pressure from her former mistress' gaze only confused Shaolin more, and she could only say one thing._

"_I'm not sure yet..."_

_Yoruichi took a moment to think about that, taking a sip of her own drink as she did so._

"_So you're just going to be puttering around, doing nothing in particular...?"_

_The older woman didn't seem terribly angry or upset, and in fact had a very neutral expression. But it was also clear she wasn't terribly happy with Shaolin, and it made the younger shinigami cringe a little._

_Yoruichi-sama came a little closer and let her eyes bore into Shaolin's._

"_You do know, of course, that your friends and family, not to mention plenty of other shinigami, are out fighting and dying in the war while you're trying to 'find yourself'?"_

_Shaolin's heart crashed at the words, as she began to think about the meaning behind them and truth of them. She had thought about that before from time to time, but..._

_Hearing it from Yoruichi-sama's own lips..._

"_I wonder who's having to carry your burden right now?"_

_The older woman gave just the slightest of smiles._

"_Just thought I'd say."_

_Shaolin barely heard her._

_She was too busy trying to keep images out of her mind, images of her fellow clansmen having to fight off Hollows without her. And images of the two shinigami she'd followed a few months before, after a Quincy had saved her..._

_They were off to their next incarnations now, thanks to her. And she was sure Yoruichi-sama knew about it; the older woman seemed to know everything that happened._

_The young shinigami filled with shame for a moment. She should have been out fighting instead of being here, she should have been helping her people instead of getting them re-incarnated, she should..._

_And then the shame evaporated as something occurred to Shaolin..._

"_What about you?"_

_A part of Shaolin regretted the words as soon as she had said them, but they had been said. They hung in the air for a moment, and even as her expression stayed the same, there was a sudden chill in Yoruichi's eyes._

"_Did you say something?"_

_Shaolin tried to ignore the icy edge of her former mistress' voice; she focused instead on her own growing anger and sense of pride._

_She would not let the insult go unanswered, nor would she let another matter go unaddressed._

"_Why are you here, Yoruichi-sama, instead of attending to _your_ duties?"_

_There was a flash of outrage in Yoruichi's eyes, and then she looked down to her drink for a moment. She seemed to be thinking on something, and then she turned her attention back on Shaolin._

"_And what duties would those be?"_

_Shaolin stared at her former mistress for a moment; it took a little effort to keep her jaw from dropping open. Then she screwed up her anger, keeping mind to use a quiet voice._

"_You are the 22nd head of the Shihouin Clan, a member of the Gotei 13's Council, head of the Onmitsukidou, guardian of the Divine Treasures..."_

_As she continued on, the Shihouin heir seemed to only be bored by the litany of titles. It made Shaolin more and more angry deep down._

"_...you are the left hand of the Soul King himself!"_

_Yoruichi closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded._

"_Yeah, you're right about that. Or at least I was..."_

_There was something in her words that gave hope to Shaolin that maybe the older woman was beginning to listen to her. She decided to press her luck..._

"_Yes, until you threw it all away for a single man!"_

_The arched eyebrow Yoruichi threw Shaolin's way had an air of agreement to it._

"_Well, Kisuke _is_ a hell of a man; as you can attest yourself, Shaolin. After all, you did spend the last decade with him, didn't you?"_

_The way the older woman said those words...it was like a slap to the face for Shaolin. Urahara-san had been nothing but kind and understanding to her, even though she had no right to such treatment._

_To imply that she would have taken advantage of him like that..._

_Feng Shaolin all of a sudden found her blood beginning to boil._

"_You want to know why I came here, to this world? It was to bring you back, Yoruichi-sama. You abandoned your clan, your bantai...all the people you served under..."_

_This was ridiculous. Even as she kept listing the consequences of the older noblewoman's actions, Shaolin could feel the anger continue to build in her. It didn't help that Yoruichi still seemed unmoved by Shaolin's words._

"_Compared to you, I am nothing; _you_ are important, and it was my duty to try and make you see reason. And if was sent to my next incarnation because of it...well, so be it."_

_Yoruichi took a moment to think about that; she was making something of a show, and Shaolin began to find herself waiting to see what the older woman reaction would be._

_The young assassin's heart fell as she saw Yoruichi smiling mirthfully and shaking her head a little._

"_They really did a good job hammering that nonsense into you, didn't they?"_

_Nonsense...? Her clan's teachings...?_

_Yoruichi ignored Shaolin's obvious expression and shrugged._

"_In any event, I had things to do..."_

_The younger woman was still trying to get over the insult to her entire clan, to the implication that their service was in vain..._

_Her five siblings were dead because of those beliefs, and Shaolin was made to feel nothing but contempt for them..._

_Over a lie?_

_And the woman in front of Shaolin had 'things to do'...?_

"_Like sipping drinks in a fancy party while Omaeda-fuku-taichou and your cousins and...who knows else try to clean up the mess _you_ left behind?"_

_Some part of Shaolin didn't think it was the actual words that affected Yoruichi. It was more the outraged tone, the way the younger shinigami was throwing her former mistress' words back in her face._

_For her part, the older woman's golden eyes flashed with shock and outrage. Whatever was going on, Shaolin's words had cut deep and touched some kind of nerve, and Yoruichi's voice took on an edge it hadn't had before._

"_You have no idea of what you speak, woman."_

_Shaolin actually felt herself smiling at her former mistress. A part of her hated that, but there was another part that didn't care what this woman thought._

_That part liked the fact that Yoruichi was hurt by someone's words._

_And it wanted to hurt her more._

"_Actually, I think I'm having a good idea in my head for the first time in years...Yoruichi."_

_Now Yoruichi's eyes went hard and her stance noticeably stiffened._

_The noblewoman had kept insisting Shaolin use that form of address back when they were in Soul Society, but not like the younger woman was using it now._

_She knew she'd broken something between them, and she felt bad about it, but Shaolin had now actually begun to feel a little rebellious, even with Yoruichi here in front of her. The woman was as derelict in her duties as Shaolin, if not more so, and the young shinigami used that sense of outrage to buttress the insecurity she still felt._

_It was obvious Yoruichi's pride had been insulted, and just as obvious that she wanted to do something rather violent to Shaolin if only they could get away from this crowded environment._

_The younger shinigami didn't want to move, both for fear of getting to a quiet spot and because, for once in her existence, she wanted to stand her ground against Yoruichi, if only for a little while._

_So the two women stood there, locking gazes, waiting for the first one to blink..._

"_I'm sorry, is this woman bothering you?"_

_Yoruichi just turned her head a little and flashed a pleasant smile behind Shaolin._

"_No, I have it perfectly well-handled, thank you."_

_The assassin turned herself and found three men standing behind her. The two on either side were obviously guards or man-servants, or...goons would be a less polite term, their muscular frames sheathed in black tuxedos._

_Neither one looked like he was at this party to have a fun time._

_The third one, the one in the lead..._

_He was a tall, slender man, not much older looking than Yoruichi; short black hair that was done just so, and dark green eyes that reminded her of a pine forest. He was wearing a white suit, rather than black, and blue tie, something that made him rather odd here._

_But he was definitely aristocratic; Shaolin could feel something of Kuchiki Byakuya in this man, though the look on his face and the sparkle in his eyes made her think more of Urahara-san..._

_He cast a brief glance at Yoruichi._

"_I wasn't talking to you, madam."_

_Then he set his eyes on Shaolin. The young shinigami spent a moment trying to figure out what was going on, and then realized that this man was aiming his attentions at her._

_Her anger at her former master disappeared into a sea of confusion; she could barely register her face heating up, a fact the man seemed to note, as his smile widened a little more._

_Which of course made her blush even more..._

"_Uhm...you mean me?"_

_The man nodded._

"_Yes, was this lady causing you any problems? You seem to be rather distressed right now."_

_Shaolin tried to think about that. It was true that she was feeling pretty emotionally beat up from her argument with Yoruichi-sama, but to get the great woman into trouble..._

_She just couldn't do it, even after all the things that had happened._

"_No...there was no problem..."_

_The man nodded at that and so apparently did Yoruichi._

"_See...no problem, now..."_

_Her sudden stop caused Shaolin to look at the Shihouin heir, and she almost gasped as she saw that the two black-clad men had come behind Yoruichi and each had gently griped one of her arms._

_Yoruichi's eyes went wide with disbelief, and she glanced on either side before fixing a venomous glare on the man in white._

"_What is the meaning of this?"_

_The man continued to smile, though there was more of an edge to it now._

"_I think you can puzzle it out, madam. Despite your words, and those of your friend here, you seem to be causing one of the guests a great deal of discomfort."_

_Shaolin wanted to protest again, but the situation seemed to have progressed far beyond the point where her words would be able to do anything._

_Besides, there was some evil part of the young shinigami that was enjoying this._

_For her part, Yoruichi looked almost like she was going to splutter._

"_W-wait a minute... Do you know who I am?"_

_The man just smiled and nodded his head._

"_Of course I do, Fraulein. You're someone who wasn't invited here."_

_Before she could say anything, he motioned to the two men. Yoruichi was grasped by both arms and very firmly 'escorted' through the room._

_She didn't seem to struggle, but only because of the shock; Shaolin couldn't imagine the woman had been thrown out of...well, anything._

_As she watched, the ex-shinigami was mostly horrified at the thought of her...former master...being treated in such a way. She felt a stirring of anger in her over that, and cast a quick glare at her 'savior'._

_He made a show of ignoring the look._

_Shaolin wasn't just angry at him, though. She hadn't been able to do much about the tongue-lashing Yoruichi-sama had given her, other than be childishly stubborn, nor help the woman in this predicament._

_And Shaolin was also angry at herself because...because some part of her was finding humor in seeing the head of the House of Gears being hauled out of this kind of place like a street urchin._

_She hoped she didn't get that kind of treatment._

"_Thank you."_

_While she really didn't mean it, Shaolin figured she should be at least somewhat grateful to the man._

_He smiled warmly, something most of the others here only did as a polite gesture, and waved his hand in the direction Yoruichi had been taken._

"_Not a problem at all, my dear..."_

"_Feng Shaolin..."_

_He chewed on that for a moment, likely trying to understand which was her given name. The assassin was already beginning to become slightly irritated at how seemingly informal these Westerners could be with peoples' names..._

_He finished his rumination and then nodded his head._

"_Ms. Feng, than, if that's all right?"_

"_Yes...I suppose it will be..."_

_He took her hand and then kissed it; she felt flustered at the gesture, before she remembered it was something they did around here._

"_Karl Schaefer."_

_Shaolin nodded in acknowledgment and then turned her head away. She started looking back out over the crowd, wondering again what she was doing here. Nobility or not, this wasn't her world, literally or socially; she figured she'd finish her drink and..._

"_Would you mind if we went somewhere more private?"_

_Shaolin ignored the words for a moment, still contemplating what she was going to do tomorrow morning. Maybe take a tour of the city and see if there was a place for another rich socialite..._

_Then she realized Karl had been talking to her again._

_She turned her attention back to him and saw the man smiling in an inviting manner, motioning with his drink to one of the doors in the side of the hall._

_The assassin supposed she was a little flustered; she could feel the heat rise in her cheeks a little._

"_You mean me?"_

_He nodded._

"_Yes. You and me, out there away from all these people."_

_It only took a second for Shaolin to figure out what he probably wanted to do, and it did explain why he had been helpful with Yoruichi-sama. She'd seen herself in a mirror, she knew men would be attracted to her._

_But Karl didn't seem like a bad man, nor did she get the feeling that he meant her harm._

_And she supposed she didn't have anything else to do tonight...though she couldn't resist getting a dig in._

"_I suppose if I don't you'll have me escorted out of here, too?"_

_As she took a sip of her drink, she found her eyes widening at the sight of him shaking his head._

"_No my dear; I did that because the woman wasn't invited. You were."_

_She lowered the drink from her mouth and looked at him._

"_How would you know that?"_

_He shrugged._

"_Because I was the one who invited you, and I have something I'd like to discuss with you, if you wouldn't mind."_

_That stopped Shaolin completely and made her start to think. She wasn't anybody special around here; in fact, she had only just arrived a few weeks ago._

_And she'd made a point of not trying to combat any Hollows she'd seen, much as the idea sickened her._

_So why...?_

_She arched an eyebrow at the man._

"_What do you want?"_

_He waved a hand at the door again._

"_Would you like to come and see?"_

_Shaolin was beginning to find this very frustrating; this man was obviously not going to give her any choice but to either come with him to...wherever, or simply walk away from the whole thing and never see him again. She hoped..._

_But she was curious, and he still didn't seem dangerous..._

_She sighed in defeat and nodded her head at him. If this wound up being a trap...she'd deal with the consequences when they came._

"_All right, I'll go with you..."_

_His smile brightened a little, and Shaolin hoped it was just alcohol that was making her face feel warm at the image._

"_Excellent. I'm sure you'll find what I have to say interesting, at the very least."_

I'm sure I will...

_He held out his hand, and for a moment Shaolin wondered what he was doing. Then she cursed herself for being an idiot and took it with one of her own._

_Even as she was being led to the door, she could help but berate herself for the slip. After all, she was supposed to be a noble...former noble...herself; she should have remembered what such a gesture meant but..._

_She'd been gone so long from that nobility..._

_Karl looked at her with concern as they came to the door and he opened it._

"_Are you all right, Ms. Feng?"_

_Shaolin pulled herself out of her reverie and nodded her head._

"_Yes, I'm fine...it's nothing..."_

"_If you wish, we can postpone this for a few days; I could have you visit me at the hotel..."_

_There was some insane part of Shaolin that actually liked that idea, but she quickly stuffed it back in her mental closet. The implications of such an offer cleared her mind and made her shake her head._

"_No, I'm all right. Let's go on."_

_He still didn't look entirely sure of that, but he nodded and they continued to a set of stairs. As they made their way up, Shaolin found herself feeling...well..._

_She was scared, yes; she didn't know who this man was or what he was up to. For all she knew, he was some monster come to kidnap her for whatever reason, and she'd just gotten rid of the one person who could help her._

_But...no, she didn't get that feeling from this man..._

_In fact, as they climbed the stairs and went down a hallway, she found that she was more curious, and...a little self-conscious, she guessed._

_She'd been to parties before, but always as a hanger-on with Yoruichi-sama. In this place she was here in her own right, a guest equal to the other people._

_And now some man had come and was showering her with the kind of attention she...wasn't used to..._

_She kind of liked it._

_They finally went through a set of doors and out onto a balcony, where Shaolin could see the city and the harbor out beyond. The moon was bright in the night sky, providing a slight contrast to the man-made lights below it._

_It was mildly breathtaking, and for a moment she actually felt it quite..._

_She turned to Karl, who had by now gone up to the bannister and was looking at her while leaning on it. She could see that he was looking at her as much as looking in her direction, and it took a moment before she realized she was doing the same thing to him._

_The young shinigami blushed just a little bit and turned her attention back to the view of the city._

"_Why did you invite me here?"_

_Karl looked at her approvingly, and while Shaolin was a little uncomfortable, for some reason she didn't feel all that displeased with such attention. And by now he didn't seem to her the type to want her for the obvious; he felt more like Urahara-san, actually..._

"_You know, you're very beautiful, Ms. Feng..."_

_Then again, maybe he _was_ here for the obvious._

_She thought about what to do, and then decided to play along for a moment; she had nothing better to do, and flirting with a human wouldn't be terribly harmful._

_And if he did something she didn't like...even though she was in a gigai, Shaolin was sure she could deal with the matter quite well._

_She affected a coquettish look and glanced at him_

"_Why thank you..."_

"_You can call me Karl, if you wish...or is that too informal for your tastes?"_

_Shaolin had to stop for a moment to think about that. It _was_ way too informal for her, but then again..._

"_No, I suppose it won't..."_

_He smiled, and then turned his attention to the view of the city outside._

"_Good, because I'm hoping our relationship will prove to be a friendly one."_

_Some inner part of the ex-shinigami sighed, even though she kept a look of interest plastered on her face._

_So he did want her for that...she expected better..._

"_How long have you been able to see spirits?"_

_The question stopped Shaolin cold._

"_I...don't know what you-"_

_Even though his back was turned to her, she got the feeling that he was smiling._

"_I saw the way you acted a few days ago when that ghost was wandering the streets. You tried to ignore him but..."_

_Shaolin understood what he was getting at. It was easy enough to tell the difference between someone who couldn't see something, and someone who was only pretending._

_She'd have to do a better job in the future._

"_So...I can see spirits and ghosts... What does that have to do with you? I know we're not common but..."_

_Karl stood there for a moment, looking out over the city; Shaolin guessed that he was trying to decide what to say to her. But she felt no dread at that, just...curiosity._

"_I can see spirits as well, Ms. Feng. But in my case it goes much further than that...I can see and utilize the spiritual energy in things both dead and living."_

_The shinigami stood there, eyes widening as she realized what was going on. She wanted to kick herself for not realizing the importance of the color scheme Karl was using: white and blue._

_Then again, she'd never actually _met_ a Quincy before...only heard about them._

_She almost blurted out the word that had formed in her mind, but she managed to stay quiet as Karl continued._

"_You probably don't know enough about such things to understand what you see. My people have been...or at least were, more systematic in their approach to the supernatural. And I consider myself to be at something of the forefront of that, if I may be so bold..."_

_A small chill went up Shaolin's spine at those words; though he was being quite benign about it, she'd heard words like that before. And not from people she particularly liked..._

"_I ask again: what do you want?"_

_Karl's smile went a little lopsided and he nodded his head._

"_I would like to study your body, if I may..."_

_Shaolin just stared at him._

"_Come again?"_

_His smile became just a shade more nervous, though that emotion didn't reach his eyes._

"_My apologies, it's not quite what it sounds like."_

_It sure sounded like that. Trouble was, by now Shaolin was beginning to wonder if that was such a bad thing._

_This was a Quincy she was facing, but she wasn't really much of a shinigami anymore, and he didn't seem dangerous._

_And she was lonely..._

"_Then...what is it?"_

_He took a moment to compose his words, obviously not wanting a repeat of the gaffe he'd just made._

"_I am standing right here, in front of you, and I can detect no spiritual energy coming from you. None. That means you shouldn't be able to see spirits at all. And yet you obviously can."_

_He came up in front of her and looked down into her eyes._

"_I find that very intriguing from a scientific point of view, and I have a great curiosity about how you accomplish that. It has to be an in-born talent of some sort..."_

"_No thank you..."_

_She'd already seen enough 'research experiments' and guinea pigs to last her a lifetime._

_And then a thought occurred to her._

"_...or are you going to 'insist' that I come with you?"_

_Karl shook his head and continued smiling; she found the move didn't make her feel uneasy._

"_Nothing of the sort. Unlike many people in this world, I think of myself as subscribing to a code of chivalry."_

"_Which says not to take advantage of single young women?"_

_Karl nodded._

"_Exactly. Besides, that interest is only a curiosity, a passing fancy...though I will have to admit I'm more intrigued than before I met you Miss Feng."_

_Shaolin wasn't entirely sure whether to be flattered or roll her eyes at his words. Truth to tell, she would have probably been no better with the pick-up lines._

_And she was intrigued by this man as well, beyond the obvious. There was something familiar about him...his presence..._

_Then she suddenly realized the reiatsu of the man; she was sure there had been something familiar about it._

"_You...you were in Nagasaki a few months ago, weren't you?"_

_Karl froze and looked at her quizzically._

"_Yes, I was. In fact, I had a rather nasty run-in with some spirits back there."_

_He looked deeply into her eyes, and Shaolin found herself warming at the gesture._

"_Someone saved my life, by giving me some warning about...someone trying to end my life."_

_He smiled knowingly._

"_It was you, wasn't it?"_

_Shaolin felt a confusing mix of emotions welling up in her. Shame at having caused her comrades' deaths, disbelief that she would be standing next to the person she'd apparently saved that day..._

_And a feeling she absolutely refused to call attraction for this man..._

_Still, she could only nod wordlessly at his question, and it caused him to bow to her._

"_My thanks, then, dear lady. I owe you a great deal more than what I have given you."_

_He straightened himself, and then looked into Shaolin's eyes again. She found this time something in his expression..._

_She could barely feel him gently cupping her chin, and before she knew what was happening he had leaned in and..._

_Even though her eyes were still open, Shaolin couldn't really see anything as she felt Karl's lips press against hers. In fact, she couldn't sense much of anything except that._

_That, and the warm thrill going down her body at the expression of affection._

_It was gentle, he wasn't trying to force himself on her,and she knew it. And it was harmless, she supposed, so she responded in kind. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his._

_It was such a wonderful feeling...the warmth in her body complementing the breeze from the harbor._

_And being here with someone..._

_And then his lips were gone, and she opened her eyes to see that Karl had pulled back and was making to return to the party. Or perhaps leave the building, now that his business was done._

"_I will be at my hotel for another couple of weeks, if you should change your mind...Shaolin. And if you do not...it has been a very pleasant evening."_

_He smiled again, tipped a non-existent hat, and then made her way of the balcony._

_And Shaolin was alone again._

_It only now occurred to her that she was bracing herself against the bannister; her legs felt weak and her body warm._

_She remembered the drink still in her hand and drained it, partly to get her mind back into the world, and partly because her mouth felt dry._

_As she did so, her mind began to return to her, and she shook her head violently._

_Her...having anything to do with a Quincy...the enemy...?_

_Absolutely ridiculous._

* * *

><p>"<em>Shaolin...Shaolin, wake up...oh gods..."<em>

For once, Shaolin found herself waking up from a dream in a relatively calm state. No starts or cold sweats, just opening her eyes and slowly having her brain come back into contact with the waking world.

Maybe that was just from having been knocked out...she didn't know or care.

What she did care about was that she was plenty stiff and sore from the fight she'd just been through. And she was kicking herself over what she had allowed to happen.

Now that her brain was clearing, she knew who it was who'd shot her.

"Mei Xing was here, wasn't she?"

There was a pause.

"_I believe so, Shaolin, though I am having a little trouble as Ichigo-san's reiatsu is clouding my senses, I am sure that was her voice I heard."_

The ex-shinigami cursed herself and her cousin; the latter for setting a trap, and herself for falling into it. And she couldn't tell where the woman was, either; Ichigo's energies were washing over the area, blinding her a bit.

It meant Mei Xing would get away.

But it also meant that Ichigo was still hale and hearty, which relieved Shaolin.

She picked herself up and started dusting herself off. A glance in one direction and she saw the body of her earlier victim, his zanpaktou already gone and his own form already beginning to disintegrate.

To think that her cousin would treat her own people so callously.

To think that, if she hadn't met Karl, Shaolin might have wound up the same way...

The assassin sighed and started out of the building, trying to head to where she felt Ichigo would be. She couldn't figure his precise location, but she could rough it by trying to find where the cloud of reiatsu was strongest.

As she passed some more buildings, Shaolin tried to think about what her position was now.

"No mistake now, 2-Bantai will know about Ichigo, now, won't they...?"

"_Probably, but if so they have not done anything about it, and they may have no interest in him; there are more important prizes here than a young would-be shinigami."_

Shaolin nodded at that; she knew her friend was trying to look on an overly-bright side, but she'd take anything right now.

"_There is also the possibility they do not know what they are dealing with; after all, there is no way to tell he is a practicing shinigami unless one sees him..."_

Shaolin shook her head.

"No, there's ways to tell. Especially for someone who's a tracker."

She was trying to not fall into a pit; she couldn't do that right now, like she'd done sometimes before.

But it all felt so hopeless now. She knew that sooner or later word would get back to Soul Society about Ichigo, a check would probably be made to see who was assigned to the area, and then...

And then the Gotei 13 would want answers.

"_Why did your cousin not kill you?"_

Shaolin smirked.

"Because she likes me so much?"

"_Very funny. One would think Mei Xing would have been rewarded for killing someone like you, and never mind cleansing the stains you have put on her honor over the decades."_

Shaolin thought about that for a moment, and then realized the answer.

"She probably wants to see if I can lead her to Yoruichi-sama."

There was a pause, and Shaolin was sure her friend was chuckling.

"_She obviously needs to brush up on her history..."_

Shaolin shrugged.

"Even Soul Society can't be perfectly informed..."

She slowed down as she saw a pair of figures on a rooftop, apparently bickering back and forth. She wouldn't have been sure in the low light, except for the enormous sword one was carrying, and then fact that the other one was so short.

"I finally found them, Hana."

She could sense the gikongan nodding.

"_Good, and you are going to tell Ichigo-san and Kuchiki-san what exactly?"_

Shaolin grabbed hold of a ladder and started climbing.

"Whatever I have to...there's what you found out, after all; and I don't know if I want to tell them about Mei Xing yet..."

"_Yes, you are right about that."_

As she made her way up, the phone started to ring again; it made the assassin swear.

"Gods, what does Hiyori want this time? Could you answer it, Hana, I need to get to Ichigo."

There was an indignant pause.

"_So I am your executive secretary now?"_

There was no real heat in the words, but it did irritate Shaolin.

"Just do it, please; I need to concentrate on those two up on the roof."

There was no further argument, and in fact the ex-shinigami could hear the bickering on the roof fade away. So maybe the phone ringing had been a good thing: it had at least gained the teens' attention.

"Quick, Ichigo, we need to get out of here!"

"You mean _you_ need to get out of here; people can't see me, remember!"

"Oh, just-!"

Shaolin managed to poke her head above the level of the roof and glared at them as she hauled herself the rest of the way up.

"I can see the two of you just fine, thank you very much."

Ichigo and Rukia just stared at her for a moment.

"Obasan? What are you-"

"Something came up and I need to talk to the two of you about it; I'm here specifically because _the two of you_ are standing on top of a building for some strange reason."

"_Actually, _two_ things came up, but we will not talk about the second..."_

The ex-shinigami ignored Hana, and saw that Ichigo at least had the grace to look a little embarrassed.

"Well...there was a Hollow here just a minute ago, and they've been all over the place all evening..."

Shaolin nodded at that.

"That's nice, but you need to head home now."

She turned a hard look at Rukia.

"And I need to escort Kuchiki-san here back to her room."

The two teens paused, and then Ichigo started looking like he wanted to laugh out loud; it didn't help that Rukia had an utterly outraged look on her face.

"M-my room? How dare you, I-?"

Even as the Kuchiki heiress kept spluttering, Shaolin turned her attention to Ichigo and softened her expression.

"Ichigo, it's important. We need to go back; I'll tell you what's going on as we head back to Furin Hall, okay?"

Ichigo looked for a moment like he wanted to continue arguing, but then he steadied himself and nodded.

"Okay, obasan."

He turned to Rukia, a small smile still on his face.

"C'mon, Rukia. If we don't get going she may send you to your room without supper..."

Rukia looked like she wanted to slap Ichigo silly for that, but then she thought better of it and just seemed to settle on fuming.

As she started back down the ladder, Shaolin breathed a small sigh of relief, and then turned her attention to Hana.

"Who was that on the phone, anyway?"

"I was not able to tell. They hung up almost as soon as I got on the line."

Shaolin thought on that for a moment, and then shook the matter away. She had more important things to deal with right now than a crank call.

As she got to the ground and saw Ichigo carrying Rukia down next to her, Shaolin found herself thankful that Orihime was safely in her room and that Tatsuki was also not a part of this.

* * *

><p>Mei Xing closed her cellphone and put it away.<p>

She'd thought about telling her cousin what was going to happen to the mortals she liked so much, but then decided against it.

It wasn't her business, and she wasn't supposed to get involved in that; mission creep signaled a lack of control the shinigami hated. But the strange young man had caught her interest, and she wanted to see what he could do.

A shinigami-killer like Shrieker would be an excellent opponent to pit him against.

And he was about to gain an excellent motivator...

* * *

><p>"Okay, Chad, what's the deal with the parrot?"<p>

The drone Shrieker had sent, one of dozens in the area, watched as the young girl...Tatsuki, he thought her name was...came up to the big dumb brute Yuuichi had shacked up with this time. Shrieker himself was holed up somewhere he figured was safe for the moment.

The shinigami posted to this area looked like an idiot, but there was also that woman running around who could turn into a cat...

"Well...it's...you're gonna have to hear it for yourself..."

At least the brat was getting a little smarter; that guy actually looked like he could go a couple of rounds.

He'd have to be dealt with first.

And then...well...

"Uhm...it's just that I heard about your friend Ichigo from Chad, and..."

_Keep going, brat..._

"...I heard that that girl, Rukia, was going to be arranging a meeting or something."

The girl looked skeptical. Shrieker didn't blame her; the kid's story _was_ pretty lame...

"What do you think, Chad?"

The lummox shrugged.

"I don't know, but if it's the White Tengu, we might as well check it out."

The girl was younger than the girls Shrieker used to go for when he was human; she might be a little fun, but he was more interested in bait than in playing with her.

She looked some more at Yuuichi, and then sighed and shrugged her own shoulders.

"Okay, what have we got to lose...?"

_Only your lives...oh, and your immortal souls, of course..._

He'd watch them, come go after them...maybe kill them if he was in the mood...but they weren't his real target.

The Guardian of Karakura..._that_ was who he wanted to kill.

He'd have to be really careful, he knew, but that was kind of his stock-in-trade; he'd been good enough to stump the cops when he was living, and now...he was even better at it.

And, _gods_, the prize...the prize made it all worth it...

He'd felt the power the woman had when she'd taken down those four idiots Grand Fisher had sent in.

Shrieker licked his lips at the prospect; with power like that, maybe the boys in Las Noches would notice him. He'd heard there was big stuff going on there right now, and he didn't mind being in on it, but he needed power.

And the key was the girl he was looking at through one of his drones.

The girl the Guardian loved so much.

Shrieker smiled to himself.

This was gonna be fun...

* * *

><p>And here's responses to the reviews:<p>

_Ability King KK_: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you liked Isshin's comment; I try my best to keep people in-character as much as possible (though since this is an AU, that isn't entirely possible here). As for Kisuke's tests and Orihime moving forward with Ichigo, there's still a few chapters yet to go with those; it's not so much background as it is there's a minor crisis Ichigo's going to have to deal with before then...

_Hunter 152_: I very appreciative of the praise, and I hope I continue deserving it as the story continues. And thanks for being kind about the update rates; part of my problem is being worried about coming up with a quality product (which I'll admit has been slightly variable here), and part is that I don't consider plotting to be my strong suit (though you seem to think otherwise).

_reality deviant_: Thanks for the comment. What did I do with Hiyori, you ask? Apparently I stuffed her in a closet, along with Masaki... I'll see what I can do to rectify that, though it may be a few chapters.

_Love Psycho_: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I'm not sure if Rukia's quite that far along, though I'm glad you liked Orihime and Tatsuki's interactions. And Shaolin's still going to have to be convinced to wants to train Ichigo (which will be happening in the next few chapters).

_HopefulEchoe_: Glad you liked the chapter and some of the things I thought up for it.

_HedonismBot_: I'm glad you liked the chapter and the things I've put into it; hopefully you liked this one as much. And thanks for the words of support as far as my update rate; they are greatly appreciated. And Yoruichi will be getting involved to a degree pretty soon, as you have seen; I probably should have done a better job at the beginning of the story, as Yoruichi did have a good reason to act like she did.

_The Fifth Horseman_: Thanks for the excellent review, and for both the comments and criticism. I'm glad you liked the interactions between the characters, as well as the bit about Tatsuki. And thanks about being accommodating about my update rate. The reason why I've been writing this story step by step is partly because it is so large and partly because it's something of an experiment, so I'm still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't (I know you weren't giving me a hard time about it, I just wanted to explain things).

As for the criticism...I forgot how many chapters had passed since those guys had appeared and the fact that they dropped off the map (like Hiyori). I'm going to try and rectify that a little, though the main body of action in this story is going to be taking place in Karakura (that's where this part of the canon story was located). Also, I think my grasp of writing has improved enough to realize I was way too vague with those people, so I'm trying to do something about that as well.

_Hayden Shaolin David_: Thanks for the review and glad to have you aboard!


	13. A Bee and Her Worries

Disclaimer: Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump magazine. This story is being written not for profit, but for pleasure.

Reviews are very welcome, as is constructive criticism (I don't mind if you're blunt, but please don't be abusive); flames will be used to light my youngest sister's candle collection.

A kind and warm welcome to _Shadow Zeranion_, _kiddi_, _Berserkerofhell_, _Culebra del Sol_, _Desmothene_, _Sr3651_, _Nasha Rei-Kun_, _N0body Kn0ws_, _Miheran_, _Luthorne_, _Fangking2_, _Brisingr Shade_, _Rinoreiri Murino Hitsuzen_, _Kinnaq_, _Umbra 8191_, _QueenPersephoneofHades_ and _Crazy4Ever_. Thank you for putting me on Story Alert/Favorite Story.

Now that the technical stuff is out of the way...

I'm baaaack...

I've had a crazy summer this year. Between that, writer's block and other stuff I've made you people have to wait_ four and a half months _for this update, and I apologize about that.

On the good side, I have the next seven chapters blocked out, so unless something weird happens, you shouldn't have to wait anywhere near as long for another chapter as you have this time.

Anyway, here's the long-awaited next chapter in my story.

(crosses fingers and hopes it doesn't suck...)

* * *

><p>Tatsuki wasn't entirely sure why she was doing this.<p>

Maybe it was because Chad was a friend in momentary need, and she always liked to support her friends.

Maybe it was because, despite his height and pro-wrestler build, Chad was something of a softie and she felt the need to help him sometimes.

And maybe it was because, with all the stuff happening with Ichigo and Rukia, she wanted to do something so her life didn't feel like it was totally out of control.

Whatever the reason, here she was out on the streets of Karakura, in the middle of the night with one of her friends when she should logically be at home and studying or sleeping.

And for what? To follow a presumed 'lead' about the transfer student provided by...

She turned her head towards her companion and his new...'pet', and immediately fought back the urge to cover her head with her hoodie so she wouldn't die of embarrassment at following the advice of a parrot.

Chad, of course, had no such problems, just as he had no problems wandering around town dressed in a cheap flower-print t-shirt...

She shook her head at the situation.

"I'm losing my mind, aren't I...?"

Her friend shrugged, even as he continued to hold the parrot cage like some sort of dowsing rod. He looked down for a moment as he swung the metal item to his right.

"This way?"

The bird looked like it was thinking for a moment, and then it nodded its head.

"Yeah...I'm pretty sure it's that way."

Tatsuki just shook her head and sighed, wishing for a moment that she hadn't been doing those 'special exercises' when Chad had interrupted her on the phone. She'd gotten just far enough for her senses to be heightened, and now her nerves were on edge from the input they were getting.

It didn't help that the area they were in wasn't exactly one of Karakura's better neighborhoods; she took another look around and saw only dark alleys and dimly lit streets surrounded by nondescript buildings and the odd store or two. There were a few buildings that had been shuttered up, or that had the glass broken out of them, and the yawning darkness inside of them made her wonder if they shouldn't simply leave and go home.

She got the feeling there was something..._bad_ here, something that had nothing to do with a bunch of punks.

And there was another feeling, at the edge of her mind...something familiar that she instinctively wished wasn't there...

She shook that kind of thinking out of her mind.

Arisawa Tatsuki wasn't the kind of person to be intimidated by bad feelings, even if she wasn't outright dismissing them either. And if something really was going on here like that, then there was nothing a pair of teenagers like them could do about it other than leave.

And she could tell they weren't going to be doing that.

She could also feel...something from the bird, sort of the way she felt something from Feng-sensei, though not as good. The bird didn't feel evil or malicious, just...

Very odd...

"You think we're going to find out anything?"

Chad's comment brought Tatsuki out her thoughts.

"I don't know, we're probably wasting our time..."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yuuichi look a little worried; it made her arch an eyebrow and then sigh.

"If there's even a chance of figuring out what the deal is with Rukia and helping Ichigo..."

"You'll do a lot of stupid stuff."

The brunette looked up and saw a genuinely warm smile on her friend's face; despite herself, Tatsuki smiled as well.

"Yeah...I guess I will. I figure I still owe him after..."

She took a moment, wondering if she should say anything to Chad; she was walking into a subject she hated, but...

"Have you heard about what happened to Ichigo's mom? I mean, did he ever tell you about it?"

The man shook his head.

"I know she was killed when he was a child, but he never talked about it."

For just a moment, Tatsuki felt some anger towards Ichigo for being so closed with someone he also considered a friend. But the memory of what happened hurt her too, and she'd only been on the edge of it.

She couldn't imagine what Ichigo probably still went through...

"Masaki wasn't killed, Chad, she was mauled...like some sort of wild animal had gotten to her. Before that..."

Tatsuki looked up now, remembering better times for a moment; she couldn't help smiling wistfully just a little.

"Before that, he was a very different person. Me and him and Uryuu – sometimes Feng-sensei, too – used to get together all the time and-"

Chad made a show of drawing back.

"Uryuu...?"

Tatsuki nodded her head.

"I'll tell you some other time. It's just...it all fell apart after Masaki died..."

Her expression matched her thoughts, and she could feel the fear and shame begin to creep in again.

"Sensei and Ichigo's dad started fighting, Uryuu's dad wouldn't talk to either one of them...the police started saying sensei had committed the crime..."

Chad nodded his head in understanding.

"And you were caught in the middle?"

Tatsuki shook her head and looked down again.

"I wish. I was more the innocent bystander, looking in from the outside, watching as some stranger's actions destroyed my whole world..."

"That's kind of like..."

Tatsuki and Chad both stopped at the sound of Yuuichi's voice, and they turned their attention towards the bird. To her amazement, the white parrot looked both sad and thoughtful at the same time, as though he understood how Tatsuki felt.

The brunette narrowed her eyes in suspicion; the parrot looked like he understood what they had just been talking about...

"What did you just say?"

The parrot paused, and then shook his head.

"Nothing."

Tatsuki wanted to say something, and then decided to let it go.

"Anyway...maybe I'm a little obsessive, but I don't ever want that to happen again. Especially not to Ichigo..."

Again sadness entered her heart, and she could also feel the negative sensation of the area try to enter into her. Why the two should have mixed together Tatsuki didn't know, but it made her look again at Yuuichi.

"I guess I haven't exactly liked strangers coming from nowhere since then."

She shrugged and gave the parrot a lopsided smile.

"Sorry, Yuuichi..."

The bird gazed at her sadly for a moment.

"It's okay."

Tatsuki could still feel it, could still feel something...something _human_ coming from this bird...

But that was-

"Will you be quiet? Nobody's supposed to know we're here..."

The sound of someone practically yelling killed Tatsuki's curiosity about Yuuichi, and turned her attention to why they were there. She looked at Chad, who nodded, and they both went down a side alleyway.

She wasn't sure what was going on, and still wasn't sure she should even be there, but she was here now, so...

After a few minutes of creeping between a pair of brick and concrete buildings, they came to the other end of the alley; she could see a side-street beyond, with more quiet buildings on the other side.

Quietly, she and Chad made their way to the edge of their 'hiding spot' and looked around the corner.

Across the way, a few dozen meters ahead of them, were several young boys...she still had to think of the White Tengu like that...standing around doing an impression of people on guard duty. They looked at turns bored and panicky, and she just knew whatever they were doing was illegal.

Her distaste for coming out here vanished; she didn't like scumbags stinking up her hometown.

But the uneasy feeling from earlier wouldn't go away, even though it seemed to have nothing with what they were watching...

She shook the sensation away and looked up to Chad.

"It looks like the bird was right after all."

Then she saw the shocked look on Yuuichi's face.

"I am?!"

"What do you mean-?"

Chad put his finger to his lips and then pointed it to the group in the street ahead. Tatsuki stopped glaring at the parrot and turned her attention back to the scene in front of her.

There was a commotion among the people there, and soon another biker came out of the building they were standing in front of.

As she watched the proceedings, Tatsuki could make some observations.

There seemed to be only four of them, so if there had to be a fight, she and Chad would probably be fine.

As for the building, she didn't see anything special about it...it was just some abandoned warehouse or other building. In fact, now that Tatsuki thought about it, the place looked like it was condemned; she could see broken or missing windows all over the place, and she was sure the inside had probably caved in.

Tatsuki arched an eyebrow at the scene.

"I wonder what they're up to...?"

She could see Chad shake his head.

It looked like a place someone would schedule a secret meeting, and the 'security' fit in with that...

But she got the idea...

"Any luck?"

Apparently the bikers were taking the advice of the first person Tatsuki had heard; she had to strain her ears to hear what they were saying.

The biker who had been inside the building just shook his head.

"Nah...ain't here, either..."

The other boys showed their disappointment and frustration.

"Well where the hell do you think-?"

The one from the building just gained an annoyed look and shrugged.

"How the hell should I know? All I know is nee-san ain't happy with us."

Tatsuki felt a chill run down her spine that had nothing to do with the eerie air about this place.

_'Nee-san'...?_

_Please tell me that's not a title..._

Another biker shook his head.

"We better find it. You remember how pissed she was about what happened to Hiroshi..."

The others went wide-eyed and nodded their heads sagely.

Tatsuki could only smile wickedly, even as she tried to figure out what was going on.

These guys weren't here for a meeting, they were searching for something.

Had Hiroshi also been searching for something? She was sure the 'incident' she, Orihime and Rukia had run into was just a chance encounter, a distraction for the evening.

So what were they looking for that would be hidden in a run-down old-?

"Well, well, what do we have here...?"

Tatsuki sighed as she heard a voice from behind her.

"Aw crap..."

Maybe they could-

"Hey boys, we-!"

The Tengu's shout choked out as Chad grabbed him by the throat and hurled him out of the alleyway and into the street. It almost made Tatsuki want to slap her forehead and she glared at her companion.

Chad just shrugged.

"They know we're here, and they've got bikes..."

_...So they'd be able to follow us if we just ran..._

Tatsuki sighed again and shook her head, and then did the only thing she could...

Walk right out of the alley and into the lights of the street, and then wave at the very surprised bikers.

"Hey guys! I hear you're looking for something?"

Even as she winced at her own lame line, a flash of recognition came over one of the Tengu.

"That's the girl that got Hiroshi's boys busted! Get her!"

The group dropped what they were doing and started charging at her, fists and weapons readied.

Then they stopped as Chad walked out of the alleyway. It took them a moment to size up their new opponent, and for a moment it looked like they might just want to leave. Chad used the time to set Yuuichi's birdcage down on the side of one of the buildings before turning his full attention on them.

Tatsuki smirked at the bikers.

"What's the matter, guys? Numbers aren't good enough for you?"

She readied herself as the bikers managed to screw up their collective courage and charged again at her and Chad.

Well...maybe she could learn something about why they were here. If not from these idiots, then from Yuuichi.

After all, if he hadn't known about the bikers being here, then someone had gotten her and Chad to come to this place.

And that might answer her other question...

* * *

><p>"What were you doing out there anyway? Shouldn't you be out making the rounds or something? After all, while you're escorting us home, somebody might be getting attacked by a Hollow right now."<p>

Rukia had an insufferable expression on her face as she walked alongside Shaolin and Ichigo. Apparently she'd gotten over the initial humiliation of just a little while before and seemed to be feeling...argumentative.

Ichigo, who was thankfully back in his own body, seemed a little unsure as he heard his 'partner's' words.

"You know...she does have a point, obasan."

Rukia turned back to face him as they walked.

"Of course I am. And instead your 'obasan' is babysitting the two of us, who don't really need help, thank you very much."

Shaolin could practically feel Hana's indignation.

"_Forget having her foot smashed on first contact. If this is what Arisawa-san had to put up with for a week, it is no wonder she does not like this girl."_

The assassin had to nod at that, but...

She looked around the street the three of them were traveling on, at the people walking down it and the odd spirit of the dead floating by, and thought about what the coming of the Hollows would mean for them.

How many of them would be around this time next month? Next year?

Part of the answer to those questions, Shaolin knew, would depend on her actions.

But she didn't have just the community to worry about.

She turned her attention to Ichigo and Rukia with worry; the girl in particular was looking expectantly for an answer.

"I needed to see how you two were doing, and-"

For the first time, Ichigo looked mildly insulted; Rukia answered before he could say anything.

"You can see we're doing just fine, Feng-san."

"Yeah, she was trying to train me a little when you showed up."

Shaolin could hear a pause on her phone's earpiece.

"_It must have been very hard. After all, I doubt she had time to bring an umpire's helmet..."_

The assassin couldn't help herself, and started smiling at the joke. Both teens' eyes widened for a moment at the expression, and then Ichigo's eyes hardened.

"Is there something funny about me wanting to learn about this from Rukia?"

Actually there was, though Shaolin couldn't put her finger on it yet. Rukia wasn't about to give her any time, though, and just turned to Ichigo with a dismissive look on her face.

"Maybe she really just doesn't think you can handle this, Ichigo. After all, you're just a beginner, not a seasoned expert like her. She probably thinks it's a miracle that you haven't gotten yourself killed yet."

Rukia gained an expectant look in her eyes, and for a moment Ichigo hesitated before deciding to join with his companion's opinion.

"Is that true, obasan?"

The very question...coming from Ichigo...

And the fact that it _was_ true...

Shaolin found she couldn't look at him, a feeling of embarrassment and shame flowing through her for a moment. It was enough to confirm his question, as she saw his eyes narrow while Rukia's expression became smug.

"She Ichigo...she may act friendly, but she doesn't think you have what it takes."

He looked unsure for a moment, but to Shaolin's dismay he sighed in seeming agreement; the two teens turned their backs to the assassin in a united front.

The ex-shinigami couldn't believe that had just happened; all she could do in response was back off a little, her eyes wide. This seemed to satisfy the teens, and they all continued their walk in silence.

"_Is Ichigo-san still defending that girl, even after what you laid out to him last night?"_

Shaolin backed up a little, as much to give her companions space as to talk to Hana alone, and found herself nodding.

"Yeah, I guess so..."

That scared her more than a little.

Shaolin had known Ichigo since he'd been in diapers...had been a hopefully positive presence in his life...

And yet this newcomer was actually able to get him to argue with her, after only a week and a half of contact.

"Hana...have I been too hard or distant with Ichigo...or maybe...?"

The ex-shinigami could hear the unsure tone of her voice even as she said the words, and so could Hana.

"_I have no idea Shaolin. Perhaps it is simply that Ichigo-san is a young man now, and Kuchiki-hime is giving him a taste of adventure he thinks he wants."_

Shaolin shook her head in worry as she looked at the two teens in front of her.

"What do I do?"

There was a pause.

"_Perhaps you should tell him who and what you are."_

"But that-"

"_Would put you on equal footing with Kuchiki-hime regarding what you could offer him."_

Shaolin thought about that for a long minute as they continued walking and then hung her head.

"I can't bring myself to do that, Hana... I'd be betraying Masaki-san..."

"_Then what are you going to do?"_

The assassin sighed and then raised her head to focus on Ichigo and Rukia. They seemed to be quietly talking...no, bickering was more like it...about something Shaolin didn't care about.

"Have you heard of the Shrieker?"

The words immediately gained the teens' attention and they turned their heads to look at her. Ichigo had an expression that showed he felt he was finally getting somewhere, while Rukia just had a slight curiosity in her eyes.

"Was that what you came to talk to us about?"

Shaolin nodded her head at the Kuchiki heiress, and then turned her full attention to the young man.

"Yes, and...I'm sorry Ichigo about not coming out with it immediately, but..."

"You really don't want me to do this, do you?"

The words stung Shaolin, and she couldn't help but flinch. She calmed down and nodded her head, trying to let some of the shame and worry she felt enter her features.

"It's selfish, and it's wrong...but..."

She found herself crossing her arms and looking away a little.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you."

There was silence for a few moments, and then Shaolin turned back to the teens and found Rukia looking at her with an expression of determination.

"Ichigo's not going to lose to the Hollows."

The assassin arched an eyebrow at the statement.

"Why do you say that?"

She managed to ignore the insulted look on Ichigo's face as Rukia replied.

"Because I believe in him, that's why. Why don't you?"

It was a good question, but there was a quality in Rukia's voice...

"_She truly will fight to the last flunky, will she not?"_

Shaolin silently thanked Hana for being so perceptive; the assassin could now see the arrogance in the words, even if Rukia truly meant them.

The ex-shinigami hardened her expression as she continued to hold the teens' attention.

"The two shinigami Shrieker consumed believed in themselves, too, Kuchiki-san."

Now the assassin looked to see what Ichigo's reaction was to that, and saw his eyes widen just a little. But he didn't seem scared, just very thoughtful about what he had heard; Rukia looked a little unsure herself, and a little troubled as well.

"I'm sure that..."

Now Shaolin pinned her with a mild glare.

"Ichigo, how long have you been a shinigami?"

The two teens stopped and stared at her a little at the change in subject.

"A...about a week and a half... Why?"

Shaolin sighed and shook her head a little, and then looked at Rukia as they started walking again.

"And you, Kuchiki-san?"

The girl made a show of thinking about that.

"About fifty years, give or take."

Shaolin looked back to Ichigo while pointing at Rukia.

"In other words, it'll take you most of the rest of your life to reach her level of experience..."

The young man started nodding his head as he began to pick up on what she was saying.

"And two people like that got eaten by this Hollow you're talking about..."

The ex-shinigami smiled sadly and nodded her head; she turned back to Rukia, who had a dismissive look in her eye again.

"Did it ever occur to you what might happen if Ichigo, a _highly inexperienced_ shinigami, _loses_ to one of the Hollows he fights?"

Ichigo looked like he might interrupt, so Shaolin pinned him with another glare.

"You need to think of the possibility, Ichigo. Contrary to what Kuchiki-san might have told you the last week, that's not the same thing as feeling that you _will_ lose."

She turned her attention back to the girl.

"Well...?"

Rukia was just shaking her head in what looked like disgust.

"Talk all you want about that; a warrior thinks of victory not defeat."

Shaolin closed her eyes and sighed at the Gotei 13 mentality Rukia held.

"And a dead man doesn't think of anything _but_ triumphing over his enemy."

Rukia and Ichigo gazed at her quizzically, and Shaolin decided to try a different means of explaining the situation.

"Just imagine if he does lose, Kuchiki-san. Ichigo is an extremely powerful person for his level of training; he'd make a wonderful meal for the Hollows. And if someone like Shrieker were to take Ichigo's soul..."

There was a pause, and she could feel Hana drawing in a non-existent breath.

"_Gods, I didn't even think of that..."_

Shaolin didn't begrudge her friend the oversight; the assassin made the same oversight herself sometimes.

Rukia simply waved the argument away, an almost airy look on her face.

"He won't lose. Like I said before, I have absolute faith in him..."

"Like your taichou had faith you could complete your assignment without anything going wrong?"

Rukia stared and then started thinking. Ichigo looked at the two women he was with and started shaking his head a little.

"Obasan...maybe you're over-reacting a little..."

Shaolin made a show of sighing in frustration; she let the worry she felt show on her face.

"Ichigo, when a Hollow consumes a person's soul, that's it for them. No more being a part of the cycle of re-incarnation, no going to heaven for your reward, no being punished for your sins..."

She shrugged sadly.

"No nothing. You're just...gone."

Ichigo nodded at that still not looking too upset, but she noticed that his face had a gone a little paler.

"I...see..."

"Those are the stakes you're going up against each time you fight those things."

He turned away from her.

"They're the same ones you have to deal with, too, obasan-"

She closed her eyes and nodded her head.

"But I have a lifetime of training; I have reason not to worry about myself too much."

Then she looked at Rukia and a smile came across her face.

"I'm also worried because you're probably not going to get too much out of your association with Kuchiki-san here."

The girl's eyes widened in outrage.

"What?"

Shaolin let her eyes harden, even as the smile stayed on her lips; she now realized why she felt she had the right side in this argument.

"You have five decades' worth of experience, and yet you have total confidence in a young man who has only been doing this for...a week and a half, maybe...? You feel he is quite capable of handling your job?"

Rukia's jaw dropped as she realized what Shaolin was implying; it took Ichigo just a second longer, but then he stared at Rukia and then smiled with some amount of pride.

Shaolin could feel her mood lightening just a little.

"To tell the truth, he _has_ been able to keep himself alive this whole time, so I guess he is just as good as you are... Maybe Ichigo doesn't need to be trained after all..."

The ex-shinigami could feel her gikongan friend smiling and shaking her non-existent head.

"_And maybe Kuchiki-hime is getting paid _far_ too much for her work."_

Casting a glance towards Ichigo, Shaolin could see a slight look of arrogance in his eyes; she would have to do something about that part of it, but she began to feel she had just pulled another of Rukia's claws out of the boy.

The look on Rukia's face seemed to confirm this, as she seemed more than a little worried. She looked like she wanted to say something, and then thought better of it.

"What is it?"

Rukia was silent to the ex-shinigami's question for a few moments, and then gained a slightly hateful expression on her face.

"Nothing..."

Shaolin there was going to be more to this later – she was pretty confident of what Rukia was thinking – but it was getting late and they were approaching Furin Hall.

She could fight that battle when she came to it.

The assassin made a show of yawning and stretching her arms a little.

"It's getting late, guys. Never mind dangerous Hollows, I need to get some sleep, and I'm sure the two of you need your beauty rest too."

The other two nodded; though Ichigo was giving her a strange look, both teens appeared like they wanted to start turning in for the night themselves.

Shaolin could understand Ichigo's concerns, but she was still trying to catch up on her rest. If she wasn't in top form, people were definitely going to die and Pluses were going to be consumed.

Like Rin and Akane.

In the mean time, she could only hope Tatsuki and the others she cared for were doing okay.

* * *

><p>Tatsuki smiled wickedly as the biker standing in front of her rolled his eyes heavenward and went to the pavement.<p>

She was feeling a little better now, having taken out some of her recent frustrations on these idiots, and the fact that they were something Chad wouldn't care about helped out a lot.

Because right now part of her wanted to give Yuuichi a good plucking for getting them into this mess...

The brunette turned to see how her 'partner' was doing, and almost wanted to either laugh or gasp in shock.

One of the two remaining Tengu was trying to take out the almost-giant with a crowbar they'd somehow found, swinging it at their target with all the force they could muster. Again and again the piece of iron kept hitting Chad, causing some tearing of the man's shirt.

Chad didn't seem to feel a thing; the expression on his face was boredom mixed with 'You've got to be kidding me'.

It took a moment for Tatsuki to realize she was shaking her head at the sight; she knew her friend was durable but...

This was just nuts.

Apparently the biker thought so too as, sweating and huffing from the exertion of swinging the crowbar, he stopped mid-swing to try and catch his breath.

Chad moved against his attacker at this point.

He turned slightly, his expression unchanged, and the biker started to panic. Chad's opponent tried to swing the bar again, but the half-Mexican simply grabbed it mid-swing and held it for a couple of moments; the biker tried as best he could to remove the bar, pulling furiously at the piece of metal to no effect.

Apparently it didn't occur to him to just let go and start running.

Then Chad jerked his arm back, driving the bar into the biker's chest just enough to send him stumbling back in pain. Tatsuki just watched as the boy finally let go of the crowbar, stumbled a little more and then joined his comrades on the pavement.

Chad dropped the weapon he'd been assaulted with, the metal clanking onto the pavement, and then turned to Tatsuki, a slight look of concern on his face.

"You okay?"

She nodded.

"Yeah I'll be fine; I-"

They were interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle starting up, and before they could do anything, Tatsuki saw the last of the Tengu bursting out of a side-alley. He stopped for a moment, looking at the scene of his comrades strewn across the street where Tatsuki and Chad had left them.

She smirked at the jerk.

_Go ahead, run away. Tell your boss-_

To her shock, the biker set his face in a determined expression, gunned the engine, and then started racing towards her as fast as his vehicle could go.

And to her horror, Tatsuki found herself freezing.

Part of her wanted to run away; she was brave, but she knew a high-kick wasn't going to do anything to a screaming pile of metal.

But she also didn't want to run away from this idiot; it didn't feel right to her, even as she saw the lights getting closer to her.

Arisawa Tatsuki never-

Before she could continue her thought, Chad's massive form appeared in front of her, blocking the motorcycle's path.

"Chad what are you-?!"

The young man just held up a hand, even as she heard the motorcycle being gunned even further and it sped up.

Her friend's intrusion managed to get Tatsuki's brain going again and, taking the opportunity now offered her, the brunette followed her instincts and turned and dove to the side. She hit the pavement and rolled a little, trying to ignore the pain; she knew the biker probably wouldn't be able to change direction this fast, and she didn't want to be in the path of whatever was going to happen.

Tatsuki had just enough time to see the bike as it careened towards Chad, and she could see the look of malicious glee on its driver's face.

And she could see the determined look on Chad's, as it became clear he wasn't going to move out of the way...

There wasn't enough time to say anything. She could only avert her eyes even as her mind was screaming for her friend to move.

Then she heard the bike crash into Chad, and some part of her flashed a gruesome scene into her eyes of his body being thrown across the street and her being the next victim and...

And she didn't hear anything else, only the bike's motor running on idle.

Tatsuki steeled herself; she had to look and see what had happened to her friend.

She did so, even as her mind kept telling her that she would see...

...that the bike had impacted into what she could only consider six-and-a-half feet of Mexican bronze.

That was the only way she could explain the fact that her friend was seemingly unharmed, while the bike...

It had hit Chad's legs and then stopped cold on its front wheel, causing the rear of the vehicle to pivot upwards and first hurl its occupant into Chad's chest and then pin him there with its mass. Even now, as he seemed to be losing consciousness, the biker had a look of shock and fear plastered on his face as he saw the half-giant's still-impassive expression.

Tatsuki's friend didn't say anything, simply letting the bike fall back to Earth in a heap, and then letting the biker slide off of him like an egg off a windowpane.

As soon as both bike and rider were in a pile on the pavement, Chad took a moment to step back and then look himself over.

Tatsuki, still staring wide-eyed at her friend, took a moment herself to get onto her feet and find her voice.

"A-are you...all right...?"

Chad took another moment to finish examining himself and then shrugged.

"Been better... I'm more worried about him."

He pointed to the Tengu, who now looked a little more than unconscious.

Tatsuki could feel her jaw drop and her eyes bug out as she pointed at the biker herself.

"_Him?!_ You're the one who got hit by a motorcycle!"

He just shrugged.

"Second time this week. It's not a big deal."

Now Tatsuki's brain was beginning to shut down; she started shaking her head in disbelief.

"'Not a big deal' he says..."

She waved a hand at the scene in front of her.

"How do you _do_ that?"

He shrugged again.

"Don't know. I just do."

Even as she was trying to process that, Chad managed to give a sheepish smile.

"I had a steel girder fall on me a couple of nights ago."

The brunette somehow stared even harder at him while he shrugged yet again, the smile still on his face.

"Now you know why I wear the cheap shirts..."

Tatsuki could only shake her head again at the sight; the man _was_ bleeding, now that she was taking a closer look, but...

"And here I thought you were just trash-talking when you went on about stuff like that..."

"Gee, mister...that was _amazing_...!"

The sound of a young boy's voice brought Tatsuki out of her stupor and back to the real world. She turned and started striding back to where Chad had left Yuuichi's birdcage, her friend following behind.

Yuuichi was looking at the two of them with the hero-worship of a young child, and it suddenly hit her that she really _was_ feeling something she could only describe as 'human' coming from the bird.

The parrot continued to look at them with delight, but then his expression changed to one of uncertainty as she saw the glare Tatsuki was giving him.

"Uhmmm...?"

The brunette squatted, her hands on her knees, and leaned as far as she could towards the cage, never taking her eyes off the bird. For his part, Yuuichi had the good sense to start backing up as far as he could go.

She could feel Chad looking at her with concern.

"Tatsuki..."

She held up a hand to silence him.

"No Chad, this bird owes us some answers..."

If Yuuichi even was a bird...

This was just getting weird, and she wanted to straighten at least some of it out; even more so now that the adrenaline from the fight was beginning to leave her and that earlier creepy feeling was seeping back in.

Tatsuki didn't hear any complaints from Chad, so she lowered her hand and continued to wait until the parrot actually gulped.

"Uhm..."

"You were just as surprised as we were to find the White Tengu snooping around here, weren't you?"

Yuuichi looked like he wanted to protest, but then decided against it and nodded.

Tatsuki ignored Chad's betrayed gasp and closed her eyes in frustration and worry; now she had more questions than when they'd come here.

And the bad feeling was getting stronger, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

This was not a good day, and she felt like taking it out on the parrot...

"Then what were you supposed to be doing? Why did you lead us here?"

Now Tatsuki could feel her heart begin to race, even as she looked at Yuuichi...

Her...'special sense' was telling her...something _inhuman_ was-

"_He lead you here because I told him to..."_

The eerie voice coming out of the air froze Tatsuki's blood, and she had just enough time to turn around to see what was going on before...

She could see...'something' moving behind Chad, like some sort of malevolent heat shimmer. It seemed to raise one arm behind the oblivious young man.

"Chad, watch out!"

Before he could do anything, the haze threw its 'arm' down.

Chad gave a pained sound somewhere between a grunt and a yell as his back exploded in a spray of blood, and his eyes went wide for a moment before he fell to the ground.

Yuuichi started jumping up and down frantically.

"Hey, you said you wouldn't hurt them...!"

The shimmer shrugged.

"_Plans change, kid..."_

Tatsuki only had a moment to throw a hateful glance at the bird before the haze threw its arm at her. The connection was like getting hit with a hammer, and the brunette felt herself fly through the air before landing on the pavement with a thud.

"And besides, what are you going to do about it?"

Tatsuki struggled to try and get herself righted. She could feel the pain from the impact, and she was sure she was going to have some serious bruises tomorrow, along with a few cuts and scrapes.

That would be fun to explain to the adults...

She took a moment to let her senses get back into order, and then she looked up, trying to figure out what...

Arisawa Tatsuki froze solid on the pavement as she saw a monster 'standing' over Chad.

The mere sight of it sent her mind into a frenzy, but she couldn't do anything other than try to take the thing in while remembered fear flooding through her mixed again with the foul energy she could feel rolling off the thing.

It had the build of a gorilla, walking almost on all fours; its long forelimbs stretched out into what Tatsuki could see were folded bat-like wings. The sickly green of it's skin contrasted with the brown of a mane of...she hesitated to call it hair...that surrounded the base of its neck.

And then it flashed a look in her direction and she couldn't help but cringe.

Where a face should have been there was what looked like a rectangular mask made of white bone, a rictus grin chiseled on it. Beneath a pair of ridges that looked like the start of horns, baleful yellow eyes looked out from the inky blackness of a pair of eye sockets.

And her body still felt like it was made of stone, tendons and muscles at best twitching just a little as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her.

_Gods, what's wrong with me...?_

She'd never felt this scared before...

The creature spared a glance at Chad, surely to make sure the young man was truly down, and ignored the screaming and wailing of Yuuichi. Tatsuki couldn't make out what the bird was saying, only the general feel that he wasn't happy about what was going on.

Tatsuki couldn't focus on that, though; she just wanted to get out of there.

But she still couldn't get her body to move, even as the monster turned its attention back to her and started slowly moving in her direction.

_C'mon Tatsuki...!_

The thing's mask wasn't able to move, but she could tell it was smiling...

She tried her best to get her brain to work right, get her limbs to pick her up off the ground.

_C'mon...!_

Tatsuki didn't want to be here. She wanted to be somewhere else, anywhere else.

She wanted to be in her room sleeping in her bed, or at Furin Hall training with sensei...

Not here with a thing that had the look of a man that got off on making sure young women appeared in the local obituaries.

_C'MON, BODY..._MOVE_!_

Somehow, something seemed to answer her prayers. Tatsuki could feel her legs and arms start shifting, and somehow she found herself standing shakily.

The monster stopped for a moment, and seemed to arch an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh, so you're still alive? That's good; I didn't want to kill you... At least, not right now..."

And then it laughed a little, and Tatsuki knew she was dealing with some kind of creature from Hell.

Whatever part of her was keeping her in a fixed location disappeared, and she suddenly found the scene changing.

She was running in an alleyway, trying her best not to trip on any of the trash on the ground...

She had tripped, going to her knees while she looked behind her to see if anything was following...

She was back on her feet, running down another deserted street, trying her best to find any sign of someone who could help her...

Tatsuki didn't know how she went from place to place, only that she needed to get out of there, to get to someplace safe, to-

A massive shadow flew over her, causing her to stop in renewed fear. Then the monster was in front of her, the pavement cracking under its feet as it impacted as much as landed.

The pressure increased, the remembrance of something foul resting on her body. Something like this thing that was in front of her, smiling at her...

And she found herself rooted again, the image of her face in the newspaper appearing in her mind.

_I'm not going to make it, am I...?_

There was a part of her that didn't think that, a part screaming at her not to be afraid.

But it didn't seem to understand what the situation was.

The creature before her was almost certainly stronger than her...

It was faster than her...

And she was somehow sure she couldn't do anything to it...

_No, that can't be true..._

It came up to Tatsuki, looked down at her with eyes that seemed to be sizing her up for a moment.

"I'll be damned... You _can_ see me now, can't you?"

Somehow, Tatsuki nodded her head.

"Pretty scary, ain't I?"

There was a part of her that wanted to come up with some witty comeback, but it was still buried.

All Tatsuki could manage was another weak nod, something which seemed to please the beast.

"Well, you ain't seen nothin' yet..."

_I need to get out of here. I need to-_

"We're going on a little trip, so your precious sensei will come looking for you..."

_That thing's after sensei...?!_

It reached out to take hold of her, and lifted her until her feet were dangling in the air.

"And then I can take her soul."

The very words made Tatsuki go completely numb.

_Her..._soul_...? Is he going to...?_

Then it looked at her another moment, and a thought seemed to occur to it.

As she watched, a small creature popped its head out of the monster's mane of hair; it was a disgusting thing, some kind of mutant, polka-dot amphibian that took one look at her and smiled.

"I think I'll have 'my associate' here make sure you can't get away. 'Course it'll probably mess you up, but there isn't that much to screw up to begin with..."

The insult only barely managed to break through the terror Tatsuki was feeling; the little creature's long head split open lengthwise, and she could see something like leeches squirming inside.

_Oh gods, what is that?!_

The sight and her reaction to it completely disgusted Tatsuki, and her body finally began to move as she tried to squirm out of the way. But the monster's grip was like iron and no matter how had she tried she couldn't slip out of her clothes or break out of the grip.

_No...I don't want to... Please, somebody..._

The little creature backed up, as though it were going to hurl the leeches on her, while the larger monster opened its mouth and stuck out a tongue with a vibrating tuning fork on the end...

_Help me...!_

Suddenly the monster jolted forward and let Tatsuki go as it cried out in pain and surprise. As she fell to the pavement, she could see the leech-creature go flying some distance away, hit the pavement hard-

A bright flash and boom roared through the street as the thing exploded, some pieces of asphalt pelting Tatsuki as she watched.

_That was almost me, wasn't it...?_

The thought immediately got her body working again; she got up again as fast as she could and started running from the monster.

_Thank you gods, thank-_

After a few meters, Tatsuki's mind calmed down just enough for her to hear the monster shouting and cursing, and make out the sound of something hard and metallic hitting bone. She stopped and turned to see what had...

"Leave my friend alone, you jerk!"

"Ahh...gods...you...!"

Latched onto the monster's back, her ginger hair whipping around as she rode the thing like a cowgirl riding a bronco was Orihime.

Somehow Tatsuki's voice-box was able to start working a little.

"Orihime, what the hell-"

_Damn it, that's that other energy I felt earlier! She was following us, wasn't she?!_

And now...

"Leave her alone! Leave her alone! Leave her alone!"

Each time she said the words, Orihime brought the crowbar down on the monster's head again and again. The beast could only flail its arms and stumble around wildly as the ginger-haired student kept riding its back, her legs keeping her clamped onto it in almost piggy-back fashion.

"Oww, oww...gods-damn it, you _bitch_! Get off of me! Get off of me!"

For a few moments, Tatsuki couldn't bring herself to do anything other than look upon the scene utterly dumbfounded. Then enough of her mind managed to pull itself together to start talking like a human being.

"Orihime, what the hell are you doing?!"

The ginger-haired girl took a moment to look back at Tatsuki and smile.

"Just trying to help a friend...!"

Then a strange look crossed Orihime's face, as though she realized something wasn't right. She paused and pointed with her free hand to the thing below her.

"That monster _is_ here, isn't he?"

Even as some part of Tatsuki wanted to slap her palm on her forehead, she could see the beast's eyes look upward at Orihime.

"You betcha 'I'm here', sweetie..."

"Orihime, watch out!"

The pause had given the monster enough time to shrug off the effects of the crowbar, and now it went on the offensive.

Orihime gave a squeak as the beast reached up behind itself with a massive arm, and backhanded her with a wing. She tried her best to hold on, but she was just a young woman against a beast that was fully capable of flying under its own power.

Tatsuki could only watch in horror as another friend went sailing through the air to land on the pavement several meters away.

Just like Chad had a little while before...

"_Orihime!"_

The monster looked at Orihime with anger and disgust.

"You think you can pull something like that on me and get away with it?!"

Then it smiled.

"Let's see how bad I can mess up that pretty face of yours..."

Tatsuki felt the fear tear through her again, and it made her feel something...

This was happening again, wasn't it? Even if she couldn't remember, it was happening again.

_I have to do something..._

The thought calmed her a little, and for some reason she felt a small part of her beginning to fight back against the energy and fear she was feeling.

But it wasn't enough, and she could only stand by as she saw more of the leech-creatures emerge from the monster's mane.

The monster spared a glance at Tatsuki and then dismissed her.

She tried to get her body to move, tried to will it to move.

She had to save her friend, but she couldn't get herself to do anything again...

She could only feel tears streaming down her eyes.

_Gods...this is my best friend... I can't let her..._

But she...it was the pressure she was feeling...she could understand now what was doing this to her, the creature's very force of will...

But understanding wasn't enough; she still couldn't move, even as the monster stuck it's tongue out and...

Tatsuki heard a crash, and the monster almost bowed as it was hit from behind by something again.

Something a lot heavier than a crowbar.

It stumbled and Tatsuki found herself beginning to move as the fear lifted a little. The creature rubbed its head and growled as it turned around to face whatever had attacked it.

"Not again?! What the hell is thi-?!"

The bat-monster found itself being hit again, this time in the face, with the back end of a motorcycle; the blow sent the monster crashing back into the side of a building, even as Tatsuki felt her jaw drop at who had landed the blow.

Somehow Chad had managed to get back on his feet and had made it to where Tatsuki and Orihime were; a grim and determined look was on the young man's face as he stood facing the monster, which looked like it was still trying to comprehend what was going on.

That made two of them, as Tatsuki's shaken mind still couldn't quite wrap itself around the fact that Chad was using a Tengu _motorcycle_ as a weapon.

"Gods-damn it, what the hell is this?! Can everybody around here see me?!"

_I don't know...but _I_ definitely can..._

And she really wished she couldn't as she saw the thing get up and shake itself back into some semblance of fighting form. It didn't seem to want to immediately attack, just study its opponent to see what he would do next.

Chad took a quick look at Orihime, still laying in a heap on the ground, and then looked back at the monster and-

The half-Mexican student held the motorcycle by one tire and then made a show of twirling the thing around and around for a moment. Then he swung it over his shoulders, grabbed it by the other tire in his other hand, and started doing the same thing.

Tatsuki could feel her jaw drop as she realized her friend was treating the bike like it was a nunchaku...or something like that.

The monster seemed to be equally stupefied at the display of 'bike-fu', and then he looked disgusted.

"You gotta be..."

The beast's expression changed as Chad took advantage of its attitude and swung the bike at it; the vehicle hit the thing clear across the mask and sent it back into the building, this time sending a rain of debris crashing on its head.

Chad stood impassively as the creature again shook its senses back and scrambled to one side, its eyes wide with a note of panic.

The sight invigorated Tatsuki; maybe they could get out of here alive, maybe...

Chad looked to her, his expression holding some pain even as he tried not to show anything.

"I'm pretty sure I've been hitting something..."

Now the monster's jaw dropped, even as Tatsuki's own heart crashed, and she could hear disbelief as much as anger in its voice.

"What do you mean...? Oh gods, this is _ridiculous_..."

Tatsuki agreed with that sentiment.

Chad was hitting the thing through blind luck?

_I can see that thing, though... I can tell him where to hit it... I can help..._

But the fear was still there, still strong, and still keeping her from doing much; she cast a glance at the thing Chad was facing and she saw it looking back at her for a moment. The malice in those eyes...

It was worse than last time...when there was only mindless hatred...

_Last time?_

She couldn't help last time, couldn't do anything...

Just like she couldn't do anything here...

"Tatsuki...Tatsuki, are you okay...? Where is-"

Chad grunted as the monster went around and then attacked him from another side, swiping at him with its wing. It grinned as it passed him...

"There! That's for-!"

Now it grunted in pain as Chad swung the bike around with what looked like all his strength and hit the monster on the back of its head. The force of impact drove the thing's face into the pavement, smashing the asphalt, while Chad let the bike go flying out of his hands and then landed on his hands and knees. The vehicle-cum-weapon crashed and skidded to a stop several meters away from the two, the sound making Tatsuki jump a little.

Chad was in bad shape, but the monster was only fazed for a moment. It picked itself up yet again, holding the side of its head as it shook itself back to reality.

"Gods-damnit, it's not supposed to be this difficult!"

He turned and looked at Chad, who was still struggling to get himself back onto his feet; there was now only rage in the thing's eyes, and it seemed to fixate on the young man in front of it as the only thing worth dealing with.

"Stupid jerk! Take that!"

The monster raised an arm and swiped it across Chad's back; the young man cried out as a spray of blood went out over a new section of pavement.

_No..._

"And take this, you bastard!"

The monster used one of its hind legs to kick Chad from below; the young man, massive as he was, was lifted into the air then hit the street with a thud.

And Tatsuki couldn't get herself to do anything other than try to find an avenue of retreat-

_What the hell am I thinking...?_

She looked over and saw Orihime, just starting to stir on the street, and then back to Chad.

_I screwed up...didn't help him. And now there's no one else..._

Even as the fear continued to tear through her...the fear of these things...she could begin to feel another emotion welling up in her.

She was disgusted with herself, ashamed of herself.

_I met one of these things before, and couldn't do anything about it...didn't I?_

"Take this!"

Now the creature threw both 'hands' locked together down on Chad's back. She was sure she heard bones cracking, if not breaking.

It leered at Chad.

"Not so hot now, are ya?"

_Why am I feeling like this...? Why am I being such a coward?_

She was scared...so scared...even if she was beginning to feel something in her begin to stabilize.

_If you don't help them, they'll both die...you'll die..._

The voice was small but steady.

But she knew she'd die without any good coming of it if she just tried to attack the thing.

The monster kicked Chad again, waited a moment to make sure the young man _really_ wasn't getting back up, and then looked towards Orihime for a moment.

_Arisawa Tatsuki doesn't let her friends die, does she?_

The thought or voice or...whatever it was rang through her, and suddenly she could feel the fear begin to dissolve.

She could feel herself finally, _finally_ beginning to move and think as she felt the pressure on her lessen for some strange reason.

The brunette didn't know why this was only happening now, and it wasn't happening quickly, but she was glad it was happening.

She just wished it would happen faster.

Tatsuki watched as the monster began to cross the distance to Orihime again, who was just beginning to get on her knees; the girl threw a panicked look at the thing approaching her.

Tatsuki saw her friend's face, and suddenly the last of the fear melted away as she began to remember herself.

_What have I been...? I won't let anything happen to Orihime!_

She couldn't feel the monster's power in her anymore, only her own self, and she no longer felt fear, only disgust and a rising anger from the deepest part of her soul.

_I'm not going to let anything else happen to my friends!_

Tatsuki knew she wasn't at full strength; she felt like she was recovering from a disease, with her body somewhat weakened from a hard-fought struggle. But she could also feel a slight rush of new-found energy, the righteous outrage helping to buoy her up.

Even as the creature came up to Orihime and prepared to do whatever it wanted with her, Tatsuki realized she could do this now, even if she didn't know why, and set herself to fight.

She _would_ save her friends...because she had to.

Tatsuki turned her attention to the monster, and poured all the negative feelings she could into her voice.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The creature turned at Tatsuki's scream.

"Huh?"

Having gained its attention, Tatsuki started running towards the beast; she let her body move automatically while she let her mind focus on continuing to summon up all the rage she could find in herself.

Rage at this thing for having harmed her friends.

Rage at the world for having let itself be pulled out from under her.

Rage at Chad's feather-duster for getting her friends into this.

Rage at Rukia...Tatsuki knew the newcomer was responsible for this somehow...

And rage at herself for having just stood by while her friends were mauled...

She channeled all that rage into her herself, all the power and training she had over the years, and threw it into her attack as she ran up to the monster that had hurt her friends.

Even as the beast looked blankly at Tatsuki, she jumped up and twirled her right leg around in a roundhouse kick to the mask on the thing's face. She only felt more rage at the look on the thing's face, a look that dared her to do anything to it before it destroyed her.

As her foot approached the bone mask, Tatsuki summoned her energy as well, and willed it to destroy the thing in front of her.

_Die you son of a bitch!_

She felt her energy push back against the creature's, negate it somehow...

_DIE!_

Her foot impacted with the mask...

And the monster's eager expression vanished as the mask chipped.

His eyes widened and he raised a hand to the spot, even as Tatsuki readied another kick.

"What the-?"

Before he could finish, Tatsuki kicked him again...

And then again...

And again.

Each time she didn't feel like it would do anything, but she wanted it to. She wanted to hurt this son of a bitch for hurting her friends, and wanted to do it even more because she'd let them get hurt.

"You bitch! Stop that!"

Tatsuki had no intention of doing any such thing, and put her whole body into her next kick. As she did so, for just a moment, she could swear that her foot was covered in some sort of white fire...

A loud cracking sound echoed through the street as she hit the monster again; hairline fissures went up through a good portion of the its mask, a few chips flaking off along the way.

It wasn't much damage as far as Tatsuki was concerned, but the thing seemed to freak out; it threw a wing up to shield the damaged area and looked at her with terror for the first time.

"You bitch! Oh my gods, you-!"

Tatsuki smiled.

"You didn't like that, did you? I guess your face must really be ugly for you to get that freaked. Let's see if I can take the rest off-"

She hardly noticed the monster thrusting its free 'hand' at her, and then she saw one of the smaller creatures bounding towards her, a look of subservient glee on its face.

Her eyes went wide as she waited for the thing's head to split open like the others had, but it just kept coming.

She could see the monster behind her leering at her, a hateful 'smile' on it's face.

"Take this, bitch!"

The small creature jumped up into the air, arms stretched forward as it intended to grab Tatsuki while its master stuck its tuning-fork tongue out...

Even as she felt revulsion at the idea of the smaller monster touching her, the brunette student dodged and then hurled out an arm to clothesline the thing. It went down, smacking on the pavement but not exploding like the last one.

Then Tatsuki got soccer into her mind; before the leech-creature could recover she ran behind the little thing and kicked it towards its master.

The larger monster had apparently already started what it was doing, because its eyes went wide as its 'drone' came flying back into its face.

And promptly exploded.

"Ahh...! You...!"

Even as he was flailing around, the monster took a moment to hurl a 'finger' at her.

"You people aren't supposed to be able to do that! You're supposed to just run like you were doing and-"

Tatsuki just shrugged wearily and tried to keep the tension out of her voice as she cut the monster off.

"Well tough luck for you! Now get out of here before I really mess with you!"

She didn't feel any of the bravado in those words, but it couldn't hurt to put on a brave face.

Although she had no idea how she was going to get out of...

"Tatsuki...?"

Even as she watched the monster trying desperately to cover his 'face' with his hands, Tatsuki cast a glance at Orihime. The ginger-haired student didn't look all that good, but she was managing to get onto her feet.

"Orihime...I won't ask if you're all right. Can you start getting Chad out of here?"

A hint of movement turned Tatsuki's attention back to the monster. He looked like he'd recovered a little and was seriously thinking about going after his former quarry again.

The brunette gave a feral smile and readied herself. She just wanted to get the hell out of here and back to...

_Gods_, she didn't know who to turn to, did she...?

She'd managed to hurt it, but this thing now flinching at Tatsuki's display would just follow them around and get her, Orihime and Chad later.

They'd never be safe...

What were they going to-?

The ground nearby exploded, pieces of asphalt and underlying dirt being thrown everywhere.

Everyone conscious – monster, Tatsuki and Orihime – yelled and jumped away as the pavement erupted in a straight line, like some weird lava fountain, starting from one of the nearby buildings and...

Leading straight for the monster, who suddenly had very round eyes as he realized he was the intended target. He tried to evade, jumping up into the air and flapping his wings furiously to gain altitude.

It almost worked, but then what caused the 'eruption' emerged from the cloud of debris.

Tatsuki stood transfixed as she saw something that looked like a rope of water emerge from the asphalt and dirt and hurl itself at the the monster. The creature's face gained a look of horror as the spray, flashing like polished silver in the moonlight, reached it.

And then like some sort of knife, the...whatever it was...slashed through the creature's left membrane before coming back down in a splatter on the ground.

"Tatsuki...!"

Even as the monster fell to the ground right after the silver water, Tatsuki turned to see that Orihime had managed to reach Chad and was trying to drag him away from the area.

"A...a little help...please...?"

A wave of self-revulsion tore through Tatsuki at the sight, and she hurried over to her friends, hoping the monster was going to be in too much pain right now to do anything.

She made it over to the limp form of her larger friend, swung his free arm over her shoulders and then started hauling him in such a way as to take the load off the other girl. A quick scan of Orihime saw her scraped and a little bloody, and the brunette couldn't help but sigh.

"Orihime, I'm sorry, I..."

The other girl shook her head, even as she panted and stumbled with her still-heavy load.

"Don't...worry about it, Tatsuki-chan... I'm the one...who came here...remember...?"

Tatsuki couldn't keep the depression out of her heart, though.

She should have been more careful, should have...

A thought came to her. She looked over to where the monster had been...

And saw nothing.

Ice went down her spine as she wondered whether she could see the thing anymore...if it had gone invisible again and was just about to attack them like it had done to Chad...

No...no, she suddenly knew that wasn't the case. She couldn't feel it in the area anymore.

The beast was gone...just gone.

Back to wherever it had come from.

The realization caused Tatsuki to almost collapse from exhaustion and relief; she only just righted herself in time to hear a pained grunt from Orihime.

"Tatsuki...?!"

"Sorry...sorry...I just..."

The ginger-haired girl gave a smile both pained and tired.

"I know...you just want to...get the heck out of here..."

Tatsuki nodded, thanking...whatever it was that had helped drive that creature off...

As if the fact that something like that was completely unnatural wasn't enough...Tatsuki had felt something coming from that event.

Some_one _had saved them...

And then she remembered that someone else had gotten them into-

Tatsuki quickly shook her head and decided to forget about Yuuichi. She knew it was a cold thought to have, but the parrot was almost certainly working with that thing that had just attacked them.

It could roast in hell for all she now cared about it.

And _he_ could explain to the police why the general area looked like a war-zone.

"Let's not worry about him now, Orihime."

She took a quick look at Chad; he seemed to be alive, but she couldn't believe that even he was in anything other than serious condition.

"Let's worry about Chad; we need to get the hell out of here and someplace we can get bandaged up."

Orihime nodded her head.

"Right..."

As they continued to carry Chad's body between them, Tatsuki promised herself that she'd find out what was going on.

She couldn't let this happen again if she could help it.

And she needed to know who had helped them just now.

* * *

><p>Feng Mei Xing stood on the building's roof a moment longer as she sealed her zanpaktou, wondering why she had done that.<p>

It hadn't been a loss of control, just a change in plans; Ginmizu was like that all the time, leaving her poor wielder to figure out the why of an action after it was done.

In this instance, it was a little easier to tell. The human teenagers had put up a much better fight against the Shrieker than Mei Xing had expected; people who should have been captured or dead were now making their way to safety.

All she had done was guarantee their 'victory'.

Still, as the 4th Seat of 2-Bantai made her way off the building and onto the the now-quiet streets, she had to wonder what lay under her zanpaktou's 'random' decision.

Mei Xing shrugged; the answer would come to her at some point, and she had long since come to trust Ginmizu's actions, even if it drove her to distraction sometimes.

Besides, there was a mess to have cleaned up...

As Mei Xing made her way to where her own motorcycle was located, some distance from the battle zone, she had to suppress a sigh.

She'd have to call someone in to clean up the worst of the mess in this area; the authorities could take care of the White Tengu. They deserved their fate after having been defeated by a group of people they badly outnumbered.

And then it came to her, as it usually did after a while, what Ginmizu had figured out.

The young man she knew would still be after Shrieker, now for the mauling of his friends.

The group of young humans with high reiatsu.

As she got on her motorcycle and started to head back to her base, Mei Xing began to realize what was probably going on...what Yoruichi was up to, or at least the generalities.

And if the 4th and her zanpaktou were right...

A smile crossed her face and her heart began to race as she thought about what this would mean to the Taichou and Soul Society.

* * *

><p>The chirping sound of a phone made Shaolin almost explode out of bed.<p>

Once again she found herself struggling against the pillows and blankets, though this time it was because of an external rather than internal problem.

Even so, she hated the idea that she was getting this paranoid this quickly.

She calmed down, even as the phone's chirping died and she was left alone in silence.

_Of course they stopped calling...right after waking me up..._

She lay there in her bed, thinking hard about whether to try going back to sleep or dealing with whoever had tried to call her.

Gods help her, she really did want to go back to sleep. She was even more tired that she'd been the last few days, and the idea of pulling the blanket over her head, drifting off and forgetting the outside world existed seemed so appealing right now...

But after a moment she sighed, realizing she probably wasn't going to get any more sleep for a while, whether she wanted to or not. And the world didn't care if she ignored it, it was going to have its way with her whether she liked it or not.

So she might as well get up and deal with it...

A small corner of Shaolin's mind momentarily wondered what time it was, and then she pushed the impulse down and decided not to bother before getting up and trying to look around for her phone.

She was going to be cranky enough without finding out just how sleep-deprived she really was.

Eventually she found the device, turned it on and put it to her ear.

"Hana?"

"_You sound especially tired."_

The assassin nodded her head at that.

"Thanks for stating the obvious. Who tried to call just now?"

There was a long pause as the gikongan made a quick trace.

"_It was the Kurosaki Clinic..."_

Shaolin arched a bleary eyebrow.

"What did Isshin-san want?"

"_How about you find out for yourself; I am placing a call as we speak-"_

Hana's voice died out as a dial tone came on the receiver. A moment later and-

"Kurosaki Clinic. This is the resident practi-"

"Isshin-san, what did you want to call me about at this hour?"

Some part of Shaolin was sorry about her tone of voice, but she was tired and she didn't want to have to-

"Oh, thank the gods. Shaolin, it's about-"

The assassin couldn't quite get her brain to function, but she could hear the note of concern in her friend's voice.

And then she heard a scuffle in the background...

"What's going on there?"

"_And do we really want to know?"_

The assassin ignored her friend's comment and tried to concentrate more on what was going on at the other end of the line. Apparently Isshin was getting into a fight with...

"Give me the phone you idiot!"

...a very upset Ichigo.

"This is my practice, boy! And don't you call your old man an idiot...!"

Shaolin sighed wearily as she heard the incipient comedy routine on the other end.

"_Would you like me to hang up so you call back later when you are not 'occupied' with family matters?"_

Shaolin couldn't help but smirk at her friend's annoyed voice, as well as at Isshin's response.

"No...no...It'll just take a... Would you stop that...?!"

"No way, let me talk to her!"

As the ex-shinigami waited, she heard movement on the other side of her door, only to see Rukia open it and peek her head into the room to see what was going on. Even though she was a little upset about the snooping, Shaolin's attention was fixed enough on the phone that she simply shrugged at the intrusion.

Somehow, Isshin got control of the phone for a couple of moments.

"Arisawa and Inoue arrived not too long ago and-"

At the mention of their names, Shaolin's mind became far more alert while her heart began to go numb.

"_Oh gods, what happened to those poor girls _this_ time?"_

The assassin ignored her friend's comment and focused on Isshin.

"What about them, are they-?"

"They're fine, Shaolin-"

There was more scuffling for the phone.

"Fine?! You've got be kidding me?! They had-!"

"That's enough out of you boy!"

There was a pause, even as Shaolin massaged the bridge of her nose; Rukia arched an eyebrow at the scene.

"Kurosaki Style: Malpractice Lawyer Suppression Technique!"

Even as she heard a massive blow being landed and the thump of what was likely Ichigo's body hitting the floor, Shaolin thought about hanging up the phone and walking over there herself.

It would probably be quicker, and she could properly smack Isshin for waking her up and keeping her up all this time.

And she really wanted to hear what had happened while she was with Ichigo; some part of her cursed Rukia for being right about caring about Ichigo to the exclusion of the rest of the community.

Hana, for her part, seemed to be more level-headed on the matter. Or perhaps she was simply trying to break a little of the tension.

"_Malpractice...? Do I want to know...?"_

Shaolin shrugged wearily.

"Everyone I ever saw walk in to that place came out looking just fine..."

After another moment of delay, Isshin's voice came back on the line.

"Sorry about that, but Ichigo's been a little upset and-"

"Shaolin_ is getting upset, Isshin-san, so you had better-"_

"Right, right. Look, Arisawa and Inoue are fine, Shaolin-san; a little beaten up, but otherwise okay. But they brought in a young man – some friend of Ichigo's – and..."

The ex-shinigami nodded her head, even as she started heading for the lights and Rukia left the door. Almost certainly the younger shinigami was coming along, and for once the assassin wouldn't begrudge her.

"Which one?"

"Some guy named Yasutora Sado."

A thought occurred to Shaolin, something that made her feel even more tired than she had before.

She had met the man before, and knew enough about him to know that if _he_ needed medical assistance, it had to be something serious.

"He's been attacked by a Hollow, hasn't he?"

She could almost see Isshin nodding sadly.

"I had to send him to the hospital, his wounds were so severe..."

There was another pause, and the ex-shinigami felt herself go cold.

"Shaolin...it's just like Masaki..."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: I hope the Shrieker battle wasn't too bad. I was going to have Tatsuki get kidnapped by him and then sweat for a while, to be dramatically freed by 'Ichigo and Co.' before joining in the big battle.<p>

Then I remembered who I was writing about. Still, I hope she didn't seem too much of a coward; my reasoning...well, how would the majority of people feel about facing something like the Shrieker? Especially if they'd just recently dealt with another Hollow.

And the Tengu are searching for what...? Well, it'll be a little while, but I'll let you know that it's something canon, but not what you might at first think...

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><p>And here are my (very tardy) responses to the reviews from the last chapter...<p>

Ability King KK: Thanks for commenting on the last chapter! Shaolin's involvement with the Quincy was something I thought of a while ago, and it does connect with what's going on later. In a couple of chapters I'll be showing more on the subject (and I have gotten my act together...I think; you shouldn't have to wait until 2014 to see it :).

As for Yoruichi, I'm glad you said 'pseudo-antagonist'; she isn't really a villain, but she's just showing a side of herself to Shaolin (and the audience) that she possesses but doesn't show very often. If you doubt me, take a look at the early scenes of the canon Soul Society arc – as long as everyone follows 'The Plan', Yoruichi is friendly and polite; the minute Ichigo tries to go against said Plan, out come the claws. And Shaolin, in this timeline, went very much against 'The Plan'...

And then with Mei Xing...she's more taking advantage of a situation and watching things unfold, as opposed to actively manipulating them. For now...

Furionknight: Thanks for commenting! I hope you liked this chapter, and there will be more coming soon.

Love Psycho: Thanks for the comment (and the truffles)! Well, the next few chapters are going to provide the kick Shaolin needs to train him. Though she does have a little bit of an excuse considering the lack of time she has available (after all, she's from a culture where you go through years of training before you enter the field).

HedonismBot: Thanks for the review! Check my answer to Ability King KK for Yoruichi's behavior, and I'm glad you liked her getting hauled off from the party (after all, nobody's perfect). And as for Karl, we'll be seeing more of him in a couple of chapters.

EVA-Saiyajin: Thank you for the praise. I'm trying to keep up the good work, and I'll definitely be trying to go faster.

Kinnaq: Thanks for the lengthy review! It's not necessary to do so, but it makes me feel great to know that the reviews I am getting show that people like the story enough to be commenting in depth.

To begin with, this portion of the story is taking place over the course of several days. The reason for this is, if you take a minute to look at it, the Acidwire/Shrieker/Kon section of Bleach covers just a few days' worth of time; that's one reason for the compressed timeline. This story will probably wind up covering a couple of months worth of time all together (though I am going to speed up the time-frame later; I have no intention of going day after day for that much time).

Originally I had only meant for Shaolin to be the POV, with maybe a scene or two here and there for Tatsuki to 'fill in the blanks'. But I think it's turning out well; I wanted to do something other than a 'AU that re-tells the Bleach story with one or two minor alterations', and having an odd viewpoint was one thing I did for that. I'm very glad people like it.

I'm also glad you liked the characterizations in the story. One of my personal pet peeves in fanfic is characters who are out of character without reason (with the exception of 'crack-fic', where just about anything goes), and so I try to do my best to keep my characters realistic and true to themselves. Any failures in this are due to my lack of experience and skill, rather than intent.

And finally, with regards to Rukia, her blackmailing him only came to light in my mind as I was writing the chapter, and I'm glad people liked it. Just that alone is going to have ramifications later on down the road. (After all, when he went to Soul Society for the first time, what was Ichigo's motivation to rescue Rukia...?)

Anyway, thanks for wishing me luck, and hopefully you liked this chapter and will like the ones to come!


	14. A Bee and Her Promise

Disclaimer: _Bleach_ is owned and written by Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump Magazine. This piece of fiction is not being written for profit, but simply to deal with some monster creativity bunnies I have.

Reviews are welcome, and constructive criticism even more so (I don't mind if you're blunt, but please don't be abusive). Flames will be used to keep me warm at night.

Welcome to _QueenPersephoneofHades_, _Thunder Claw03_, _Jman12394_, _solitus_, _Ash Devil Sadist_, _adrien skywalker_, _Blackout1170_, _SHONENJUMP Guy_, _violentyetawsome_, _Charosi zdelajiet_,_ Leon the Bulletproof_, _TrueSeeker_, _meeresstern1983_, _Saturn Lover_, and _X3n0s_, all of whom saw fit to put me on either Story Alert and/or Favorite Story; I hope I continue to justify those decisions.

Four months again (actually a little over that). Sigh... I have had a lot of things happening to me over that time span that took me away from writing, and the fact that I wound up re-writing this chapter almost from scratch at one point didn't help. Other than that, I'm going to let you people decide what kind of person I am for letting you wait this long (I don't feel happy with myself, but I'm not going to try and read your minds, either), and continue on with writing the next chapter to this story.

In any case, I hope you all enjoy this chapter...

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><p>Shaolin sighed sadly as she saw the flashing lights of an ambulance parked outside the Kurosaki Clinic. She wasn't surprised by its existence; if Chad's wounds were as bad as Isshin had made them out to be, the young man would need more care than a simple clinic could provide.<p>

It pained the assassin that once again she was trying hard not to run as she approached the building and the vehicle; her feelings were much the same as they had been a few days ago.

The difference was that this time she _knew_ there would be a mess waiting for her here.

Shaolin spared a quick glance at her 'companion'. Rukia was matching the ex-shinigami's brisk stride, a look of determination on her young face.

It didn't sit well with Shaolin, having the Kuchiki heiress coming along for the ride, but she'd been tired when she'd left Furin Hall. By the time the assassin realized that she was being followed it was too late to simply send the younger girl home.

The ex-shinigami was coming for the sake of Ichigo, but now Rukia might also meet Isshin face-to-face, something the man would probably not be enthused about.

The Kurosaki patriarch had been in hiding from the Gotei 13 for the last...had it really been something like three decades?

And now Shaolin, a friend, was bringing a full member of that organization right up to him for a good close-up look.

This was not going to end well, was it?

"What?"

Rukia's arch question brought Shaolin up short, and she suddenly realized she'd been looking a little too uncomfortably at the girl. Rukia had an eyebrow raised in an expression that said she was clearly waiting for an answer.

The ex-shinigami sighed and thought for a moment of what to say, and then she realized it didn't matter.

If Mei Xing was in Karakura, the game might be up anyway.

Still, it was better to be at least a little careful.

"Please don't make a scene when we get there."

That comment made Rukia start and then gain a sarcastic expression on her face.

"I'll try not to offend anyone while there with my presence, if that's what you're implying."

Then her mood seemed to take a more sour edge.

"After all, I'm only here to make sure my powers are all right..."

Shaolin heard the hurt note in the girl's voice, and she felt bad for a moment. Then she shook it away and nodded her head.

"Good, because the boy's father might want to have a serious chat with you about corrupting his son and heir."

Rukia started again, and then her eyes gained a small amount of curiosity in them, even as she obviously bit back another crack.

They were now close enough that the ex-shinigami could see the orderlies from Ryuuken's hospital slowly wheeling out a gurney and IV with a massive load on it. Following not far behind them was Isshin, a concerned yet serious look on his face as he conversed with his counterparts on Chad's condition.

"_Shaolin...I'm detecting a familiar signature..."_

"Not now, Hana..."

The ex-shinigami breathed the words, even as she began to sense something that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

She had other things to worry about at the moment.

As soon as he noticed Shaolin, Isshin waved a hand in her direction. He froze imperceptibly as he saw Rukia, and the ex-shinigami took a quick glance to see how her 'companion' would react to seeing the man.

Rukia had not the slightest bit of recognition in her eyes.

That fact caused a wave of relief to flood through the assassin, and she could tell from his eyes that Isshin felt the same way. Emergency done, the doctor put on the best smile he could considering the circumstances.

"Shaolin-san, I'm so glad you're here. Ichigo's been...let's just say he's not exactly happy with what happened just now."

"_Really? We could not tell..."_

The ex-shinigami nodded her head at that, even as she ignored Hana's comment.

"I heard on the phone, remember? How's Sado-san?"

Isshin waved a hand at the ambulance.

"See for yourself."

Shaolin and Rukia turned and walked to the ambulance just as the other men were beginning to load Chad into it. The orderlies turned some of their attention to the approach of the two women, and sensing what the visitors were here for the men slowed their efforts just a hair.

"Thank you."

Shaolin mouthed the words even as she took a look at what was left of Ichigo's friend.

He was wrapped up in bandages over most of his torso, and his normally bronzed skin was pale. The assassin tried to keep out the monotonous beeping of the heart monitor in the inside of the vehicle; it would just draw her attention to the other pieces of equipment that Chad was being hooked up to like the breathing apparatus supplying Chad with some extra oxygen.

But what was making the ex-shinigami's heart crash was the 'scent' of Hollow reiatsu that was all over the boy. He stank of it, and she was sure his wound were even more fouled with the stuff. She silently thanked the gods that where he was going, something could be done about it.

"_Shaolin...it was definitely the Shrieker who attacked Sado-san... I am sorry."_

The words made Shaolin go cold, and even as the orderlies continued to do their work she could feel fresh shame wash through her.

This was so like six years before...

She'd failed someone again...

And all because she was trying to take care of some personal matter at the expense of everyone and everything else.

Because she felt she knew best...

The doors closed, and after another moment the ambulance turned its siren on and quickly left for the hospital, leaving Shaolin and Rukia alone with Isshin in front of the Kurosaki Clinic.

The ex-shinigami could feel her shoulders sagging before a hand fell on one of them. Turning around, she could see Isshin looking at her with a kindly expression.

"I know it looks bad, but Sado-san seems to be in remarkable condition for what he suffered. Believe it or not, he's probably going to be all right, though I think he's going to want to keep his shirt on in public from now on."

Shaolin glared at her friend over the crack, even as she felt her mood lighten just a hair.

Ridiculous as the words sounded, she trusted Isshin's opinion about Ichigo's friend.

It made her feel a little less useless.

After a moment of waiting for the ex-shinigami to say or do something, Isshin made a point of arching an eyebrow and turning his attention to Rukia.

"And who is your friend, Shaolin-san?"

The words jolted Shaolin and she turned her attention to Rukia. The older woman managed a slight nod in the direction of her counterpart.

"Oh...I'm sorry Isshin-san. This is Kuchiki Rukia... Kuchiki-san...this is Kurosaki Isshin, Ichigo's father."

Rukia took a moment to look at Shaolin with concern, and then put on a very pleasant smile as she looked at the doctor she'd been formally introduced to.

"It's very nice to meet you, sir. I-"

"Rukia, there you are!"

All three of them were caught short by Ichigo's outburst from the door of the clinic; Rukia in particular was turning a bright shade of red at the use of her given name in the public space.

And the suddenly curious look Isshin threw her way didn't help.

"Uh...Kurosaki-san, I just came by to..."

Rukia's attempt to try and verbally get Ichigo to calm down failed miserably. By the look on his face, the young man was in no mood to talk; he made straight for his friend at a speed just shy of running, visibly ignoring the fact that he was moving a little stiffly. As he reached the trio, he cast a glare at his father, and then turned his full attention to Rukia.

"Look, we've got to go, Rukia. I need to find the sonofva-"

Shaolin found herself a little energized by the situation; she moved to place a hand on her godson.

"Ichigo-"

He shrugged her off, casting another silent glare her way. The ex-shinigami shrank back a little from the look, shame surging a little in her again, and that gave the young man the opening to grab Rukia's arm.

"C'mon, you help me out."

Rukia looked like she wanted to do no such thing.

"Ichigo...you don't understand-ouch!"

Ichigo had squeezed her arm enough to hurt her a little, and the girl's expression quickly became one of anger. She raised her free arm to slap him, regardless of the company around them.

"Let go of me, you-!"

"Son-"

Now Ichigo didn't even bother to look at any of them as he spoke, keeping his eyes instead cast down on the ground.

"My friend's almost been killed. I'm going after whoever it was, and I'm not letting any of you stop me."

His voice was more determined than angry now, which some part of Shaolin considered a good sign, but there was also a desperation in his voice, a sense of shame.

To their surprise, Ichigo then let go of Rukia and glanced at the assassin again.

"If you want to help, you can come. Otherwise stay out of my way."

The ex-shinigami found herself rooted to the spot by the young man's eyes. He was serious about this, she could tell, and the look on his face showed he was waiting for her decision.

Her pause was apparently enough decision for him. He immediately started running off to the streets, trying to head in what Shaolin could only think was a random direction.

Only now did it suddenly seem to occur to Rukia that her friend was really going without her. Her expression went from annoyed at his earlier actions, to stunned that he'd left her, and then to outrage and hurt that he'd left her behind.

"Hey, Ichigo, wait up!"

And soon Rukia was speeding off after him, all thoughts of the adults apparently out of her head.

All Shaolin found herself capable of was standing there like an idiot, watching them leave.

"_And you plan to do what about this?"_

Hana's words jolted the ex-shinigami; the teens might be headed off to their doom in the state they were in. Stuffing as much of her feelings down into herself as she could, Shaolin started to go off after the two teenagers when she felt a hand grab her arm.

She turned and noticed Isshin shaking his head, a sight that caused her eyes to go wide.

"Isshin, your son and Kuchiki-san are..."

The doctor took a look in the direction Ichigo and Rukia had torn off in with a sadly wistful look, one complimented with a sigh.

"Let them go, Shaolin."

"What?!"

"_Interesting tactic..."_

Isshin turned his attention her way.

"A friend of his nearly got killed today and he blames himself. I've gone through that before, and I can't say I handled it much better when I was...well, _sort of_ his age..."

He took a closer look at her, a sympathetic expression in his eyes.

"And as I recall, you still feel like that from time to time, don't you?"

"_... He is right about that, Shaolin."_

Memories flooded the assassin's mind about the time after Masaki's death, after she'd managed to put herself back together. She found herself nodding at both Isshin and Hana's words.

"Yeah...I do... But he could be in danger..."

The doctor shrugged, even as he turned and started making his way back to the front door of the clinic.

"Are you going to try and stop him? I mean, you could go and physically drag him back here, but I think you already tried that tonight..."

"_If it makes you feel better, I do not sense Shrieker anywhere in the area..."_

Shaolin found her shoulders sagging, even as she continued to nod her head again. She wanted to go, but...

Some part of her decided that a change in subject would be a good idea.

"How are the girls?"

Isshin seemed confused for a moment, and then realized which set of girls his friend was talking about. He made a show of thinking about the matter, something which didn't set the ex-shinigami at ease.

"Arisawa-san is actually in really good condition; some scrapes and cuts, none of them really deep... Your student did well out there, better than she had any right to."

Shaolin nodded at that, even as she felt a little pride warm her and push back the bad feelings.

"She always was pretty tough. And Inoue-san?"

Isshin's face became more serious, and it caused the ex-shinigami's heart to sink back down a little.

"She's been beaten up pretty bad; nothing like Sado-san, of course, but she's going to be staying here for a day or two to heal up. Still, there's no permanent damage, something I'm sure the young men of Karakura will be thankful of..."

"_I am _so_ sure..."_

Shaolin couldn't help but smirk at that.

"Would that Ichigo be thankful of that."

She looked up and found the doctor arching an eyebrow in interest, and the ex-shinigami couldn't help but shrug.

"She 'likes' him, Isshin-san, if you get my meaning..."

Now the look on his face was one of serious consideration, no doubt about the suitability of the girl for his son. Shaolin couldn't help but shake her head at that, and she decided yet another change in subject was called for before the conversation became the wrong kind of 'uncomfortable'.

Her voice became more quiet as she voice another concern.

"I bet they're scared out of their minds..."

To her surprise, the doctor started shaking his head.

"Actually, they're handling it pretty well, considering what they just went through. In fact, Inoue-san in particular seems to not have been affected by...well, just the insanity of 'the event'."

Shaolin nodded her head again, absorbing the information, even as she noticed that they were walking towards the door of the clinic.

"That's good. I'll talk to them a little, and then I'll..."

She shook her head in frustration and sighed; she felt so helpless...

"I'll do I-don't-know-what with Ichigo and Kuchiki-san."

Isshin nodded his head at that, and then an odd look came to his eye.

"Now that I've told you about everyone, I need to ask if you know anything."

The words caught the ex-shinigami by surprise.

"What are you-?"

"Shaolin-san, level with me. I may not be able to see spirits anymore, but I can tell the remains of a battle with a powerful Hollow when I see them. And you're telling me that three teenagers with absolutely no training – no powers whatsoever – managed to survive an encounter with one?"

The ex-shinigami felt more than a little uneasy at the implications.

"_I figured Isshin-san would have thought of that... What do you say to _him_?"_

Shaolin stood still for a moment, and then sighed and looked down to the ground.

"Mei Xing is here."

There was no response for a moment, and all the ex-shinigami could do was stand there and wallow in her own shame.

"That fruitcake? Hmmm..."

Isshin's words made Shaolin snap her head back up; the doctor looked more thoughtful than worried, and when he saw his friend's reaction he favored her with a smile.

"At least I know she's out there. Is she here right now?"

The ex-shinigami made a scan of the area, but saw nothing; Mei Xing hadn't staked the place out, as far as Shaolin could tell.

Though that didn't mean much.

She turned back to the doctor and quietly shook her head; Isshin's smile broadened a little as they made their way into the waiting room.

"Well, I'm glad I don't have to worry about another visit tonight. I'm tired."

All Shaolin could do was stare at him in shock.

"Isshin-san, what about Ichigo? What about you? What if she-?"

He raised a mischievous eyebrow.

"So who are you going to bodyguard, then? I'll tell you I find it more than a little weird that my son and I are rivals for your affection..."

Now Shaolin's jaw dropped while her eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets; she could feel Hana's amusement.

"Isshin!"

The man seemed to ignore Shaolin's discomfort, only making a show of speculating about something.

"I didn't know my son had gotten that mature..."

The ex-shinigami started to splutter, even as she could feel Hana roaring with laughter. It took Shaolin a minute to get herself back together and speak.

"Kurosaki Isshin, what the hell are you...?!"

She stopped when she saw that the doctor's face had become more serious, though kind.

"You were getting all mopey there. Do you feel any better now?"

She stopped short at the words and thought for a moment, and then nodded when she realized the exchange _had_ actually gotten her mind a little off of her self-hatred. She felt a little embarrassed now, actually.

"Yeah, thanks. But, Isshin-san if my cousin is here..."

"If that woman was a danger to my boy, he wouldn't have come home today; same holds for that Kuchiki girl. I think they have more to worry about from stray Hollows than anything else. And as far as I know, he seems to have been taking care of that well enough."

Shaolin wanted to protest, but then realized that the doctor was probably right. She found herself nodding again, though more reluctantly this time.

"What do you want me to do, then?"

Isshin simply shrugged.

"Visit your students, make your next plans. I trust your judgment, Shaolin, even if you don't."

He pointed down a short hallway.

"Arisawa-san and Inoue-san are that way, to the left. Me, I'm headed off to bed now."

He made a show of yawning and stretching himself.

"I suggest you do the same once you're done with them and Ichigo. You look like hell."

The assassin couldn't help giving a rueful smile at Isshin's back.

"Same to you."

She watched her friend disappear into the residential part of the building, and then started on her way to where Isshin had indicated.

"_Are you thinking what I am thinking?"_

The tone of Hana's voice made clear her concern, as well as a little weariness that had nothing to do with the hour.

Shaolin found herself nodding just as wearily; she could feel something draining out of her soul even as she walked over to the door to the patients' room. As she did so, she found the stench of Shrieker's energies increasing; no doubt it would be here for days, though most of the household would probably not notice it.

"That Tatsuki-chan wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess if I hadn't decided to live in Karakura...?"

"_Then she might have not survived tonight."_

The words brought the assassin up short, even as she felt the blood drain from her face.

"What?"

There was a pause, and she could feel Hana gathering her thoughts.

"_Arisawa-san and the others live here, Shaolin, and they would have done so regardless of where _you_ chose to live; they would likely have met Shrieker anyway. And if that was the case, and they had no association with you, your cousin wouldn't have had reason to intervene..."_

Shaolin was able to visualize in her mind's eye three battered bodies lying in some forgotten part of Karakura, with no one really looking for them for days.

"_I am just curious what she would want..."_

"One thing at a time, Hana. First I talk to the girls, and then we deal with other stuff."

There was a pause.

"_Agreed."_

Shaolin reached for the door, and then felt a minor panic attack.

"I know what Isshin said, but the girls must still be pretty shaken up, Hana... And I let that happen to them..."

The ex-shinigami could feel the mod-soul shaking her non-existent head.

"_No you did not. There was no way you could have known, especially not with Ichigo-san there beside you... Or are you going to blame _him_ for what happened?"_

Shaolin's eyes went wide, and she instinctively turned her head to face the person she knew would be there.

"Of course not, it's just..."

"_Then do not worry about the condition of the girls until you actually see them, all right?"_

The ex-shinigami at first didn't want to listen to the calm words her friend was giving her, but then she forced herself to relax and nodded her head reluctantly.

"All right... Thank you, Hana..."

"_You are quite welcome, Shaolin."_

The assassin took a cleansing breath, calmed herself further and then released it as she turned the knob and entered the room.

It was one of the larger spaces in the clinic, a quiet room with pastel blue walls and four beds made out for patients. Right now only one was occupied, namely the one with Orihime, with Tatsuki sitting at the side.

Shaolin's heart sank a little as she saw the bandages on Orihime's body; she appeared to have a cast on her side that gave her a stiff look. But there still was that happy spark in her gray eyes and a smile on her lips, and she seemed to have been in animated conversation with her companion.

Tatsuki actually looked worse at first glance; she was still in her tattered school-clothes and her hair was disheveled. There were a few bandages and bruises, but nothing worse than what she'd sometimes had to deal with at the dojo.

There was a more serious air about the brunette, though, and the ex-shinigami could tell there was something on the girl's mind; she seemed to be only half-listening to Orihime.

Both girls turned their attention to the entrance and the looks on their faces turned into ones of relief and joy.

Even through her haze of self-recrimination, Shaolin could only feel a guilty pain at the sight; she felt she deserved to be yelled at by those two, not warmly greeted.

The assassin walked over to the bedside, and Orihime gave a huge smile that was completely at odds with her situation.

"Oh, sensei, I'm so glad to see you! You wouldn't believe what happened...!"

A cold feeling in the pit of Shaolin's stomach appeared at Orihime's words, but she managed to put on a smile for the girls.

"It's okay, Inoue-san. I've already seen Sado-san; I've been told he's going to be all right..."

Orihime just looked at the older woman with what could almost be described as wide-eyed excitement. She knew what Isshin had said, but it still almost blew the ex-shinigami's mind the disconnect that seemed to exist.

"That's great! But it was horrible, sensei; Those bikers, the White Tengu, attacked us while we were out on the street and..."

As she related the tale, Shaolin tried to keep her expression and demeanor calm and controlled. She understood now that the poor girl must be in shock and...

And then she saw the look on Tatsuki's face, the wide eyes and stunned expression. It only lasted for a moment, until the girl figured out that her sensei had noticed; Tatsuki turned her face away again, but it was enough.

It suddenly hit the assassin that Tatsuki had _seen_ Shrieker.

The girl knew about the Hollows now.

Some part of the ex-shinigami didn't particularly want to be here anymore; she wanted to tear out of the room right then, rather than stay and face her student.

And another part was cursing her cousin. Mei Xing hadn't erased the girls' memories...and it was too late now to do so.

Shaolin suddenly wished she'd killed the woman some time in the past; it wasn't like she hadn't had opportunities...

"Sensei, are you okay...?"

At Orihime's question, Shaolin managed to snap herself back into the moment. She put on the best smile she could, even though the action sickened her.

"I'm fine, Inoue-san. I'm just glad the two of you are all right."

She paused and looked at Tatsuki, who was still sitting quietly in her chair.

"The two of you _are_ all right?"

Even as Orihime nodded her head vigorously, Tatsuki seemed to come out of a trance. She turned to Shaolin and nodded her own head, though the look in her eyes was troubled; doubtless she saw the troubled look in the assassin's own eyes that belied the smile.

"Yeah, yeah, we're fine, sensei..."

She turned her attention to her friend.

"Orihime...would you mind if sensei and I had a moment alone...?"

The ginger-haired student stopped and looked back at her friend. There was a new intensity in her eyes that made Orihime look very unsure for a moment.

"Okay, Tatsuki-chan..."

The brunette nodded at that, and then headed for the door; Shaolin followed and soon the two women were out in the hallway, neither knowing what to say or do for a moment. And then the assassin dropped her smile and gave her best student as serious a look as she could.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

Tatsuki looked like she was going to say something for a moment, and then wasn't sure of herself. The ex-shinigami tried to put on a comforting smile.

"Go ahead and speak your mind; I'll listen, but try to keep in mind where we are..."

Tatsuki nodded at that and then seemed to think for a moment more before looking at Shaolin with a serious expression.

"Sensei...we did run into the White Tengu, and we did have a fight with them...at least Chad and I did...but..."

She looked hesitant again, but then sighed and shook her head.

"And then this monster came out of nowhere, and..."

The assassin waited for a moment for her student to continue, and then she noticed that Tatsuki's shoulders began slumping, and there was a haunted look in the younger woman's eyes. And a searching look as well, too see if she would be rejected by her teacher.

Shaolin could only try to keep the calm look on her face, even as she began to wonder if she was going to lose someone else in her life tonight.

"Tatsuki-chan...?"

The brunette student just closed her eyes and looked like she was trying to hold back some tears.

"You know what I'm talking about, don't you sensei?"

The ex-shinigami found herself wanting to say some sort of comforting lie, but found that melting away even as she opened her mouth.

"Tatsuki, I..."

Shaolin froze when Tatsuki opened her eyes again. There was a look of betrayal, of pain, and the assassin found herself unable to speak.

"You fight those things, don't you?"

All Shaolin could do was nod and try not to wither in the gaze. And then the heat left Tatsuki's eyes and she looked away.

"I couldn't fight, sensei...I ran... I abandoned my friend and I ran as fast as I could..."

Tatsuki didn't seem to be crying or sad; she was more tired. Possibly it was from the shock of the event; the crying would come later.

Shaolin felt like an idiot now, for her earlier comments on how tough the girl in front of her was. The Shrieker – any Hollow for that matter – was not something for the faint-hearted, and the ex-shinigami was seeing that now, being reminded of that.

But she needed to do something.

Shaolin gathered herself and gave as warm a smile as she could; she tried to keep the guilt out of her own expression and voice as she spoke.

"Inoue-san and Sado-san are alive, though. And I get the feeling it had something to do with you."

Tatsuki smirked at that and shook her head a little, and then she opened her eyes to look off into empty space. The sight heartened the assassin; maybe her student wasn't as broken as she'd thought.

"Yeah, maybe... I've never been so scared of anything in my life, sensei."

She took a moment to look at one of her hands, which she clenched and opened as she spoke.

"But I guess I found something in me..I don't know. I did help out in the end, and I think I drove it off somehow..."

Shaolin's smile widened in relief at the reluctant admission; she could feel the same emotion coming from Hana.

"_And you were proud of Ichigo. At least he had a zanpaktou with him..."_

The ex-shinigami could only agree with her friend, and she made a decision at that point.

Not that she had much choice at this point, but Shaolin could feel some chains breaking in her soul at this point, some part of herself being unlocked. She had a feeling she was going to be doing more of that tonight.

"To answer your earlier question, I do hunt those things... I've been doing it for most of my life, Tatsuki-chan, and I'm so sorry that all of you have gotten caught up in this."

She got down on her knees and started putting her face to the floor in front of her student. The action made her feel much better, though she could almost feel the shock coming from Tatsuki.

"Sensei, what are you-?"

"Please forgive me for the trouble I have caused all of you."

There was a pause, while Shaolin waited for her student's reaction.

Then she heard Tatsuki sigh.

"Sensei, get your ass up; it's too late for that kind of thing, and besides you're sounding like Orihime when you do that."

For just a moment, there was a flicker of anger in the ex-shinigami at Tatsuki's tired dismissal of the show of abasement.

Did the woman not realize what she was getting, and abject apology from her own sensei?

But then the anger died as she remembered what Tatsuki was like. Shaolin managed to pick herself back up, and when she did she saw a small smile on Tatsuki's tired face.

"Sorry, but you need to get your butt in gear and take that thing out before it does any more damage."

The assassin nodded her head, though she knew how likely she was going to be able to fulfill that request. She looked intently at Tatsuki.

"What are you going to do?"

The girl thought for a moment, and then finally decided to shrug.

"I don't know; I'll think of something. I'm definitely not going to breathe a word about this to anyone..."

Shaolin nodded her head.

"That's good. Look, I need to take care of something right now; I'll look in on you two later, okay?"

The brunette student gave her own nod and then started for the door, while Shaolin turned and made her way to the entrance of the clinic.

"Sensei, before you go...?"

Shaolin turned to Tatsuki and saw an unsure look return to the teenager's eyes. She looked like she wanted to say something again, but just as the ex-shinigami was about to prod her, Tatsuki shook her head and a sort of earnestness returned to her expression.

"Sensei...I'm not angry with you... I mean, I know you've lied to me, but it was for a good purpose."

The young woman gained a rueful smile on her face.

"I probably would have thought you were nuts if you'd told me..."

The ex-shinigami found she couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah, you probably would..."

"I just wanted to let you know that. So you don't think I hate you."

Shaolin felt something inside her...she wasn't sure what it was. Part of her wanted to deny Tatsuki's words, but mostly...

Mostly she felt it easier to smile now.

"Thank you, Tatsuki-chan."

Shaolin saw the girl smile a little at the honorific, and she turned and headed out of the clinic. She had some work to do concerning a certain orange-haired young man and his sidekick.

"_See, that went better than you thought it would, did it not?"_

As she made her way outside, away from the stench of Hollow and the other strong reiatsu, the ex-shinigami found herself shaking her head.

"It was only just, Hana, but you were right."

As Shaolin made her way away from the building and down the street, one thought couldn't keep from entering her mind.

"It's happened again, just like before... And I..."

"_You are not dealing with children this time. You are dealing with people who might be able to help you out, help you in defending this city if you let them."_

The assassin found herself chuckling just a little.

"That is, if I haven't pissed Ichigo off too much."

"_Or Kuchiki-hime. … You do sound better, though."_

Shaolin thought about that for a moment.

"I still don't feel good, but this isn't going to work. Not the way things are going."

"_So what are you going to do? Chase after the two of them?"_

The assassin shook her head again, only now a slightly evil smile crept along her face.

"I know where he's going to wind up, and besides that I can give him a wonderful lesson about not taking the Living World for granted."

There was a pause, and Shaolin could feel her friend's trepidation.

"_What are you going to-?"_

"Nothing really bad, but if he's going to insist on putting his obasan through hell, I think she's allowed to do the same."

Hana seemed to decide not to press the matter, and it gave Shaolin time for her mind to wander.

This really was like six years ago; the encounter with Tatsuki especially so. And the dilemma that was affecting her decisions now was the same as back then...

She couldn't help but see the images flow through her mind as she tried to figure out where her godson might be...

* * *

><p><em>Shaolin knew how a Hollow felt now, or at least she felt like she did.<em>

_As she made her way along the landscaped riverbank of Karakura, she only just barely registered the buildings she was passing by, the green grass leading to the water's edge, or the bright blue sky above her._

_Her whole world was gray, centered on herself and no one else._

_She'd left Hana back at the Hall for a while..._

_It wasn't quite right, but...the ex-shinigami knew she just needed some time to herself. Just needed to get away for a while and rest her mind._

_Try to figure out what to do._

_She ignored the other people out on the road. Some part of her mind dismissed them as 'mere humans', not worthy of notice at a time like this._

_And yet they were the reason people like Shaolin had gone out to fight the Hollows, to protect them from those horrors._

_Except she'd failed the ones that mattered most to her..._

_The assassin stopped and closed her eyes as the hot tears began to flow from her eyes again._

_If only she'd been a little _faster_._

_If only she'd been more careful in dealing with the Kurosakis..._

_If only..._

_Shaolin felt herself deflate some more as she shook her head and tried to look at the situation realistically._

_Masaki was dead, killed in front of her son._

_Her family was shattered; images of two four year old girls crying as their father tried his best not to fall apart in front of them filled Shaolin's head, and she felt the tears start to flow more freely. She turned herself towards the river so that any passersby wouldn't notice as much._

_Karin and Yuzu would never really know their mother._

_Isshin now had the burden of raising his three children by himself, with only a cold bed to greet him each evening._

_Ichigo, despite the ex-shinigami's measures, would almost certainly be traumatized for the rest of his days._

_And even though she'd spent weeks searching night and day, tearing the whole of the Home Islands apart, she couldn't find any trace of Grand Fisher._

_Shaolin was worthless._

_She stood there for...she didn't know how long, really...silently berating herself and beginning to realize that maybe Shinji had been right after all._

_She'd been a fool to stay here, hadn't she?_

_Trying to make a life for herself, trying to pretend that she belonged to part of a larger community._

_Opening her heart to others..._

_She just wanted to close up her heart, close up the Hall, close up her life..._

_And find a hole somewhere where she could bury herself so she wouldn't be able to screw up anymore._

_She figured no one would care._

_Certainly not Sokken and his son, who she was sure would never forgive her for this; Ryuuken had already been casting suspicious glances Shaolin's way, as though what had happened with Grand Fisher had been intentional._

_The assassin opened her eyes and looked out over the waters of the river she was beside; it really was a beautiful summer day, when she stopped to look at it._

_Not like the darkness and mud in her nightmares lately._

_Maybe she'd just sit here, like she had when she'd first arrived in the Living World, and wait until the Hollows came for her. Maybe it wouldn't be Hiyori this time, and Shaolin would get the fate she..._

_A movement in the corner of her eye caused Shaolin to turn her attention further along the riverbank. It was just a matter of curiosity, nothing else; she'd see what it was and then turn herself back to the river and her own thoughts._

_And then she realized that she was looking at Ichigo._

_The orange-haired boy was in t-shirt, shorts and backpack, looking for all the world like he was just pausing for a moment at the riverbank before heading off to school._

_Shaolin thought about ignoring the child; she had her own problems to deal with, and besides that she doubted Isshin wanted her anywhere near his family right now._

_She began walking some more, trying to think of where the best place to go to would be. Maybe back to Bavaria; she hadn't been there in a long time, decades in fact..._

_The idea was starting to feel good._

_It would be like eighty years ago, getting away from everything here._

_And then she focused in again on the world around her and noticed that her steps had taken her closer to Ichigo. The ex-shinigami was maybe two or three meters from him now, and when she looked at him, she could see that he was still standing in the same spot he'd been in before._

_She wondered for a moment why she'd come over here. All that she could see was a boy looking out over the river..._

_But there was something wrong, and despite herself, Shaolin continued watching Ichigo._

What is he doing?

_He continued to stand there for a moment, and then he started to turn on his heel and walk away from her, parallel to the river. He went a few steps, head turned down, and then turned around and started walking back the other way. He walked for a while longer, and then turned around, finished the circuit and began it over again._

_The assassin's feelings of misery and self-loathing began to dissipate a little as her curiosity grew. She felt an understandably sad air coming from the boy, but beyond that she couldn't figure out what he was hoping to accomplish._

_Some still-rational part of her mind did understand that he needed to get to school._

_For another moment she thought about what to do, even as she saw Ichigo go back to standing by the riverbank, looking out over the water._

_And then the realization hit Shaolin like a tsunami._

_Part of her wanted to quietly run from this place, to get her worthless self as far away from the boy as she could._

_Part of her wanted to simply stand there and finish melting into her overwhelming feelings of grief and shame._

_But for some reason she found herself walking over to where Ichigo was. It was by the same mysterious compulsion as before, and before she knew it she was sitting down on the ground behind him, the boy completely oblivious to her presence._

"_Ichigo...?"_

_The boy started, and it took him a moment to turn around. She started in turn when she saw the look in his once happy eyes._

_There was sadness, confusion and pain there, mixed together in a way that shouldn't have belonged to a now-ten-year old. And there was fear...which was understandable, considering what some people were saying about his 'obasan' now._

_But there was also something else, something Shaolin had been seeing in her own eyes lately._

_Self-loathing._

"_Obasan...?"_

_Ichigo didn't look sure of himself even as he said the word, as though he was doing something he shouldn't by talking to her._

_Shaolin did what she could to not show her own emotions; she realized she needed to be the solid, responsible adult here, at least for a little while. At least if she was right about what was going on._

_She smiled at him, trying not to let her own sadness enter into her voice._

"_Ichigo, why are not in school right now? Have...people been picking on you?"_

_It wasn't as a idle question as she made it sound; the ex-shinigami knew that with their mother dead, the children would always be considered...'different' from everyone else. They would always be outsiders in school..._

_And it was one more thing Shaolin could lay at her own feet._

_She banished the thought as she saw Ichigo think on her words for a moment, and then slowly shake his head._

"_No...I..."_

"_Then why are you here at the riverbank? I know it's a sunny day, but it's not like you to be doing something like this."_

_Now Ichigo's expression became torn, and it was clear he was trying to fight back both anxiety and tears. He looked like what he might have to say was stupid, but at the same time he needed to tell someone, wanted to so very much..._

_Shaolin knew what was going on; she made a point of looking around Ichigo, towards the far side of the river and a figure that had just appeared out of the ground. Some small part of her shook its head at the display, wondering if Grand Fisher was going to..._

_No, she couldn't think about that. Not now._

_She instead pointed at the figure and raised her eyebrows in interest._

"_Were you trying to figure out how to help that person over there?"_

_Ichigo looked at her strangely, and then turned for a moment to look where the ex-shinigami was pointing. He froze, and then turned back to face her, his eyes wide with disbelief, and maybe...hope._

"_You...?"_

_Shaolin tried not to let the sight of the boy struggling to finish the sentence tear her heart in two. Instead she nodded, and let some of the sadness seep into her smile._

"_I've been able to see them for as long as I can remember."_

_Ichigo's composure began to crumble at the words. Even though he was struggling to keep from falling apart in front of an adult, he could only whisper his next words._

"_Have you seen Mommy?"_

_That was what he was out here for – looking for his mother's ghost. It was a natural thing for a boy who could see and talk to the dead as well as he could living people._

_A boy who had a foot in each world._

_Shaolin tried to think rationally as she fought the emotions welling up inside of her._

_How should she answer his question?_

_She made a point of looking like she was thinking on the matter, and then inwardly sighed as she made her decision._

"_Yes...yes I did. She was okay, Ichigo...just..."_

_Her kinds words trailed off as she saw the look that formed on Ichigo's face. He was momentarily happy at news of his mother, but then he started looking even worse, tears beginning to stream down his cheeks as he fought a losing battle against breaking down._

_The ex-shinigami was more than a little puzzled; she let her face show concern._

"_Ichigo, what..."_

"_Mommy hates me, doesn't she?"_

_Shaolin couldn't help it; hearing the question from Ichigo made her jaw drop. It took her a moment for her mind to grasp what had been said, and for her to say something._

_For once, her own sadness began to dissipate._

"_Ichigo...what on Earth would make you say such a thing...?"_

_The boy stood there, trying hard to keep his composure; he'd let his backpack slide to the ground now, seemingly having enough weight on him without the extra burden._

"_Because...obasan, she met with you... But she doesn't want to get near me..."_

"_Ichigo, that's not..."_

_Shaolin's mind reeled as she tried to think of what to say that would calm the boy, what lie would help bolster the other lie she'd just told._

"_I didn't mean to break my promise..."_

_The words caught the assassin short, and she just stared at Ichigo in curiosity for a moment._

"_What promise?"_

_She waited patiently for the boy to brace himself, giving him a look of sincere interest. She didn't want to scare him away, and for a moment she could feel a little bit of new shame entering her._

_Shaolin had thought about her own pain, but she hadn't really faced the pain others might be involved in. She'd avoided them, didn't want to see them..._

_She forced down the conclusion that she was scum, keeping her interest focused on Ichigo as the boy finally looked ready to speak again._

"_It was that day...you know..."_

_The ex-shinigami nodded her head and waited for him to continue._

"_Well, after we left the dojo...I promised Mom I'd protect her, and..."_

_Even as Shaolin absorbed the words, Ichigo's face suddenly turned into a grimace, tears streaming out of his eyes again as the emotions overcame him._

"_I couldn't protect her, obasan... I lied to her...and now she hates me, and..."_

_He couldn't go any further, so he stood silently and continued crying._

_Shaolin tried to think about what to say to that._

"_Ichigo...your mother doesn't hate you..."_

"_Then why isn't she here?!"_

_The assassin couldn't help herself again. She started at the boy's outburst, and the look of fear in her eyes made Ichigo stare back in shame for a moment._

_And then he started crying again._

"_She hates me, I know it. Mommy hates me, because I couldn't keep a stupid promise. I'm worthless...I'm..."_

"_Ichigo!"_

_The boy stopped and looked at Shaolin again, saw the look that was obviously there. She wasn't going to hide her emotions now from the boy, not when he was like this._

_Ichigo's words truly were frightening her, and she made sure he knew it by her expression._

"_Obasan... I'm sorry, I..."_

_She held out her arms to the boy, more out of instinct than anything else._

"_Ichigo, come over here."_

_He looked unsure, like he didn't know what was going on, or that he should do what she was asking of him. But then he started coming, slowly...so slowly...over to where Shaolin was sitting._

_As soon as he was close enough she gently gripped his shoulders, and locked eyes with him._

"_Ichigo, you need to listen to me, right now."_

_She waited for his response, and she felt a little better when he nodded._

"_Good. Ichigo don't ever say you're worthless, don't ever think it. Never again."_

_Ichigo's eyes widened._

"_But..."_

_Shaolin shook him just a little, and she began to see him get a little scared of her. She realized she was beginning to cry herself._

"_Ichigo, you are just a boy. You couldn't protect anybody now."_

_He started looking down to the ground._

"_I know..."_

_She shook him again until he was looking back into her eyes._

"_That doesn't mean you won't be able to protect people in the future. You _can_ do it, Ichigo, if you want to."_

_Ichigo looked unsure of himself for a moment._

"_How do you know that, obasan?"_

_Shaolin gave a smile to the boy, even as she felt the tears flowing down her own cheeks._

"_Because I believe in you, Kurosaki Ichigo. And your mother does, too. She told me herself."_

_Ichigo looked stunned for a moment, and the assassin had to wonder if her words had had the effect she'd wanted._

_He still looked so unsure..._

"_Why isn't she here, then...?"_

_Shaolin closed her eyes and prayed to whatever gods were listening that this would work._

"_Because she didn't have time, Ichigo. She had to leave very quickly, and it was only by luck that she found me. She said she missed you very much, and that... And that she wanted me to look after you and the girls, if you wanted..."_

_This was ridiculous. Shaolin felt so dirty lying to the boy like this, she..._

_She felt the boy leave her hands, and then she felt his arms around her neck and his body pressed against hers, and when she opened her eyes, Shaolin could see the boy wrapped around her. He was crying now, all pretense of bravado gone, and all she could do was finish the hug by placing her own arms around him._

"_Ichigo..."_

"_I miss her so much, obasan...!"_

_Shaolin closed her eyes again and let the tears flow again, letting them mix into her voice._

"_I miss Masaki, too, Ichigo..."_

_Even as she sat there, sharing her pain with his, Shaolin found two thoughts entering her head._

Masaki...I'll take care of him for you. I'll take care of Karin and Yuzu for you too...

I'll stay...for them.

_She also knew she was going to 'take care of' Masaki's husband as well. Shaolin was going to _kill_ Isshin for allowing his son to get like this under his watch..._

* * *

><p>Shaolin allowed herself a tear as she lay back on the roof of the Kurosaki Clinic, looking at the moon and stars and thinking.<p>

It had been a long time since she'd thought about that particular memory, even though she held the thoughts and promises from that time in her heart.

"Do you think I've been doing a good job, Hana? I mean...given what I had to work with?"

"_What are you referring to?"_

The ex-shinigami took her time to answer, instead letting out a slow sigh. It was such a nice night; she wondered if she should just sleep here, in her gigai and let the sun's rays wake her in the morning. She'd done things like that before, though not here...

"I'm 'referring to' Ichigo. I've tried to do what I could for him. I'm not his mother, I can't ever be that to him or Karin or Yuzu..."

"_Not that you would not want to."_

Shaolin bit back the snippy reply she was going to give the gikongan, and let herself play with the fantasy she kept in her heart.

"I would have loved to have been his wife, Hana. I would have loved to have Ichigo and the girls be my own children."

She sighed again.

"But it wasn't meant to be..."

Shaolin could sense a snort of indignation from her friend.

"_Only because you let it be that way. But still...to answer your question, I think you have been as good a surrogate parent as you could be. Ichigo has managed to stay out of any serious trouble up until now..."_

The assassin let a rueful smile play across her lips.

"Yeah, and now he's getting involved with strange women, hallucinogenic drugs and life-threatening violence all at once."

She could feel a similar feeling coming from Hana.

"_Do not forget getting in trouble with the authorities."_

Shaolin had to close her eyes in frustration at that.

"I know. I...have some ideas on what to do with that..."

Hana noticed the tone in her friend's voice; her next words were wary.

"_What do you think our illustrious 4th Seat is up to, anyway?"_

The ex-shinigami was actually glad for the change in subject as she wiped off the tear.

"I don't know. She isn't interested in Kuchiki-hime; she would have taken the girl away or contacted her by now."

There was a pause, which Shaolin used to absently draw lines between the stars while she thought.

"_What about the anomaly, the lack of Hollows here in Karakura until recently."_

The assassin found herself shaking her head.

"No, that would be 12-Bantai's territory. Well, we'll probably see what's going on later. Just one more thing I'll have to deal with."

An apprehensive pause hung in the air.

"_What might your plan be concerning that?"_

The ex-shinigami took a moment to answer. She was beginning to feel Ichigo's reiatsu, and she knew the next few minutes were going to be interesting enough without involving Hana.

"You don't want to know. But it's the only thing I can think of..."

She just hoped Masaki would forgive her one of these centuries.

"I'm going to start telling him, Hana. Telling him about what's really going on. Maybe not tonight; I'm sure he's in no condition for a sit-down right now. But soon..."

She sighed.

"That is if he still wants to listen to me..."

There was a pause.

"_While I heard the exchanges between you and he, I would like to think Ichigo-san will be more understanding of your-"_

"Lies?"

Another pause.

"_Your hiding something that no child in this time and place should have to deal with. He is old enough to hear the truth, Shaolin, just as Tatsuki was. And as for the rest..."_

The assassin's smile went a little brittle.

"I'll just have to deal with it, then. If he wants me to go to hell...well, I _do_ know the way there..."

There was a nervous pause, even as Shaolin began to feel the approach of Ichigo's reiatsu.

"_Just please do not bring me along if you decide to make the trip..."_

The ex-shinigami couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"I promise, Hana."

The assassin opened her eyes and turned her full attention to the roof now, especially the part of it where she felt Ichigo would be coming in. Though it had cooled down some, she could feel the agitation in his energies, the anger...the frustration...

She could understand how he felt right now. This was going to be difficult...she'd let some bridges burn already, but she needed to find a way to get him to at least think rationally about what was going on.

"Ichigo...come...on...slow...slow down...!"

The sounds of Rukia's shouting came to Shaolin's ears even as the object of those words made his grand appearance, seeming to materialize a couple of meters away from the assassin. He still looked upset, but he was also breathing heavily and his eyes looked dim; he had probably been running himself ragged over a good part of the town and was now feeling the results of that labor.

Shaolin took a glance at Rukia and suppressed the urge to shake her own head at a confirmation of what she'd found in the streets.

The younger shinigami was out of her gigai, her white kimono a little rumpled from having to keep up with Ichigo. The Kuchiki heiress' expression looked even more ragged than his, and Shaolin found herself pitying her counterpart now.

They were all having a hard time tonight...

As Ichigo and Rukia caught their collective breath, the assassin figured out how she wanted to do this. She rolled the idea in her mind for a moment, pulled in a large breath and then sighed audibly.

It was time to get this started...

She put a calm but slightly disapproving look on her face and injected some of that emotion into her own voice.

"Had fun around town, you two?"

Ichigo didn't say anything, only looking away with something that was a mix of injured pride and anger. Rukia, on the other hand, had no trouble looking at the ex-shinigami directly.

"Where is my gigai and his body?"

Shaolin smiled and waved a hand at the window that led into Ichigo's room; Rukia looked at the pane suspiciously.

"Right over there, safe and sound...unlike where you two left them. And might I ask, Ichigo, where you have been the last couple of hours?"

Ichigo took a moment to register the words, and then his jaw dropped and his eyes went wide in disbelief. Rukia's own eyes widened a little, but she seemed more relieved that someone else had taken up the young man's attention.

"Where have I...? What the hell do you mean, 'Where have you been?'?!"

He thrust his arm out to indicate the city, apparently forgetting that he had his gigantic zanpaktou still in hand. Rukia went wide-eyed as she saw the blade swing at her head, and she ducked to avoid it.

"I've been out there, in the city, trying to find that bastard who attacked Chad and... Where have _you_ been?!"

Rukia had managed to avoid getting an impromptu haircut, and as she stood up she shot a glare at her 'partner'. She looked like she was going to do something to Ichigo, and then stopped herself to look at how Shaolin would react.

The ex-shinigami kept her attention focused on Ichigo and introduced an edge to her voice.

"Well, I've been here, looking after your friends...at least I hope they're your friends..."

"Of course they're my friends!"

The assassin quietly ignored the outburst.

"...And I've been comforting them a little while they were sitting in the clinic trying to figure out what the hell had happened to them. With you nowhere in sight, I might add..."

Even as Ichigo's expression froze into stunned shock, Shaolin turned her attention to Rukia and nodded her head. The girl was quick enough to figure out what the ex-shinigami had meant by the gesture; her eyes widened in surprise for a moment and then she smiled in gratitude.

And then she whacked Ichigo – _hard_ – on his head.

The young man cried out in pain, even as he stumbled forward from the force of the blow.

"_That had to have hurt..."_

Shaolin knew Hana was talking about the verbal jab given to Ichigo just now and not the physical blow Rukia had used on him, but the statement fit in either case.

The assassin hated to do things like this to him, but she needed to rein him in no matter what else happened.

Even as he was recovering from the blow, Shaolin started walking towards Ichigo, a still-calm look on her face. She ignored the angry glare he leveled at her and Rukia.

"Well the hell was that all about?!"

"You being an idiot."

He spluttered for a moment in outrage, and Shaolin took the opening to look at Rukia.

"And I won't bother mentioning-"

The girl's eyes went wide for a moment, and then they just looked tired.

She sighed, took a glance at Ichigo and then started walking to the window.

"All right, I've had enough...you two can go do whatever you want, I'm going to get my gigai and...I don't know..."

"Going where, Kuchiki-hime?"

Rukia stopped and cringed at the honorific, while Ichigo pivoted where he was and just stared in his companion's direction, and then at Shaolin.

"I'm getting away from the two of you... I...I need to think...I..."

The girl turned a weary and almost hateful look in her counterpart's direction.

"You're right, I did screw up. I wouldn't call it a major one, but..."

She waved her hands to indicate herself.

"I didn't know this was going to happen, and I'm sorry to have caused you both this kind of trouble."

The Kuchiki heiress forgot about the window and just shook her head.

"Do you think I wanted this?"

She pointed at Ichigo.

"I know he isn't trained. I know he isn't experienced, but... He's all I've got."

She looked more intently at Shaolin.

"Every time I see him in combat, I keep thinking about how I dragged him into this. I keep wondering how many souls are going to be lost because I made a single mistake."

Then the look in Rukia's eyes softened and the ex-shinigami saw something in them that stunned her.

"I have to believe in him, Feng-san, because I have no choice."

On some level, the girl hated herself.

"I'm a failure."

All Shaolin could do was look away, even as she saw Ichigo going up to her with a comforting look on his face. He took a moment to glare at the assassin.

"You satisfied now?"

It took all she could to cram her emotions down, but then she shook her head and gave Rukia a hard look.

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

The words froze both teens on the roof and they turned their full attention to her. Shaolin nodded at that and decided to press on and looked into Rukia's eyes.

"Are you _really_ a member of the Kuchiki? Or are you just playing one? If it's the latter, then I'd be doing them a favor if I ended your existence right here and now."

The younger woman's eyes went wide for a moment, but then her shoulders straightened a little.

"I am a Kuchiki, though not by birth-"

"Then act like one."

Shaolin pinned Rukia with a serious gaze, keeping Ichigo quiet with an upraised hand.

"All right, you've been treated badly, and I've been a serious bitch to you. I was mocking you earlier, making fun of you, insulting you to Ichigo. So what?"

That seemed to put some fire back into Rukia; she cast a glare at the older woman.

"So what?! What-?!"

The ex-shinigami returned the girl's glare with a hard look of her own.

"If you are a Kuchiki, then you are better than this, better than me. If one insignificant human's comment and sniping can get that much under your skin..."

Shaolin made a point of sighing and shaking her head.

"Then maybe you don't deserve your clan name."

She continued to hold the Kuchiki heiress with her gaze.

"Do you agree?"

Rukia looked like she wasn't sure of herself for a moment, but then she started to nod in understanding, even as a new resolve filled her eyes.

"Yes. Yes I do."

'At least for now' seemed to infect the words, but Shaolin would take it for now. She just needed to keep the girl from wandering off to who-knew-where in a tiff.

Now she turned her attention to Ichigo, fixing his eyes with her own.

"And you I assume are still going to try and search for Shrieker on your own, no matter how long it takes?"

The young man's brow furrowed in anger as he was reminded of his reason for being here.

"Of course I am!"

Shaolin nodded at that.

"Well, when you find out how to get to Hueco Mundo, let me know..."

She flicked a glance Rukia's way.

"And let her know while you're at it. I'm sure her people would love to know how to perform that trick."

Ichigo's anger faded for a moment, and he gained a mystified look on his face.

"Hueco what...?"

Shaolin made a show of covering her eyes and sighing in exasperation.

"You know, Ichigo...if you're going to be fighting monsters in the dark, you really need to learn as much as you can."

She avoided Rukia, who seemed to be making for Ichigo's window again, and instead looked at the young man seriously.

"The Hollows don't live on Earth, Ichigo. They have a dimension all their own that goes by the name 'Hueco Mundo', and they travel from there to here...basically to grab lunch."

There was a momentary look of shock in the young man's eyes, and then it hardened into determination.

"I'm going to find him anyway, with or without your help."

"_Oh good grief..."_

Shaolin ignored Hana's words of bemused frustration, even as she felt the emotion herself. Outwardly, she made a show of considering his words, glad that he seemed to want to stay for any reason, even if it was to argue.

"And what about your friends? What about your father and sisters? While you're out there avenging Sado-san, who will be defending him and them if...no, _when_ the Hollows come to town again?"

She was interrupted by a choking sound, and then a moment later she and Ichigo could hear rising laughter coming from...

"Yeah, Ichigo...who knows...what might happen..."

"Rukia, what is it?"

He moved to where the window was, below the roof, and the ex-shinigami leaned forward to take a look at the exchange.

"_Shaolin, what did you do...?"_

She ignored Hana, instead smiling as she saw Ichigo look through the window to his room to see something Rukia was pointing at. She had a smile that became even bigger as the substitute shinigami started choking himself. He nearly let his zanpaktou drop from his hand as he stared into the room, and then...

"OBASAN!"

"Volume, Ichigo. Remember, Karin can see and hear you in that form..."

The ex-shinigami couldn't help but smile as she saw the horrified look Ichigo threw her way, even as he pointed helplessly at the window. Rukia took one look at him, and then started laughing again at a slightly lower volume as he tried to speak.

"Obasan...why did you do that...?"

Shaolin made a show of thinking on that.

"Well, I've been a little concerned about you getting too involved with the spirit world. You _are_ technically a living person, with responsibilities and commitments in the world of the living. When you leave your body just...laying around like that..."

Rukia was regaining control of herself; it was pretty obvious to the assassin that her counterpart was laughing from stress.

Though the fact that Shaolin hadn't tied up her gigai might have had something to do with it...

"Thank you."

Both Shaolin and Ichigo stared at her a little, Ichigo with a slack jaw; the Kuchiki princess just shrugged and pointed at her partner.

"I've been trying to hammer that into his thick head since I met him. Maybe he'll listen this time, now that he's all tied up."

"_Oh, you did not..."_

Ichigo looked at each woman for a moment, and then his face started gaining a fresh batch of rage.

"I can't believe this...can't you two be serious...?!"

Shaolin let the smile drop from her lips and she gave the young man a hard gaze.

"You want to be serious? You have to be kidding me."

She waved a hand down in the direction of the window.

"You, who couldn't even be bothered to take care of the body your mother gave you? You can't even honor her-"

"Shut up!"

Ichigo was fully enraged now, and he swung his blade up in an attack position. Even as Rukia's laughter morphed into horror, he leaped from his position swinging the sword at Shaolin with a look that scared the ex-shinigami for a moment.

Then her training took over. She side-stepped the attacked, grabbing the young man's arm as he sailed past her body, and then twirled her body around. Before he knew it Ichigo was pinned on the roof by Shaolin's weight on his back, his right arm behind his back while his blade clattered across the roof.

Both teens had a look of shock and horror at what had happened, and even more so as Ichigo tried to move and found he couldn't.

"Obasan, let go..."

The ex-shinigami narrowed her eyes.

"You're still calling me that? After you tried to kill me?"

That stopped Ichigo in his tracks. She could feel his surprise, and then his shame as he realized what he had tried to do. A quick glance at Rukia showed that the girl was feeling the same way.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, obasan, I just..."

He just lay there, on the tiles, and started to cry a little. Realizing Ichigo wasn't going to be much of a threat, Shaolin loosened her grip a little.

"I'm sorry, too, Ichigo. But I need you to understand that you can't save everyone by yourself, no matter how much you try."

She relaxed her grip further and then let go entirely when she felt no attempt to escape. She backed up and waited until he had picked himself up and turned around to face her and Rukia. The young man still looked upset, still looked rebellious, but...

He looked like he would at least listen for a moment.

Shaolin put on a look of understanding, though she kept her stance ready for anything Ichigo might try to pull.

"Ichigo...you need to understand. This is one of the most painful things you learn when you hunt Hollows. 'Do I try and protect the people I cared about, and let the rest of the world hang itself? Or, do I focus on the community and...well, if my loved ones get attacked in the meantime, that's their problem...?'"

Ichigo's expression became bitter, and a little of the outrage came back into his eyes.

"_Their_ problem?"

He thrust one hand towards the interior of the clinic.

"Tell that to Chad...and to Orihime and Tatsuki, and... I mean... What am I supposed to do, he just got mauled like..."

And then Kurosaki Ichigo froze solid.

He just stared at her, and she could see the gears in his head working as he put together what was going on, what the implications were.

"_He is figuring it out, is he not?"_

Shaolin could only nod sadly at her friend's words, even as her heart broke a little at having destroyed a good fraction of her godson's world.

He would never be the same again, she was sure.

And unfortunately, maybe it was for the best.

All she could do was hold his attention as the expression on his face grew stricken and he lowered his hands to his sides.

Rukia herself looked unsure now, even worried, and her gaze went from ex-shinigami to substitute as she tried to figure out what was going on. Finally she settled on Ichigo, and her gaze became gently concerned.

"Ichigo...?"

He didn't seem to hear her; his attention was still on Shaolin. He didn't seem angry, even now that she could see he was recovering a little from the shock. He seemed to make an effort to speak, found he couldn't, and then tried again.

"Was it...?"

He started to point in the direction of the hospital, where Chad had gone, but lowered his hand as the assassin shook her head gently and smiled sadly.

"No...it was another one..."

He looked away from her and seemed to take a moment to process that information.

"Did you...?"

"I tried to...for a while."

Shaolin sighed a moment as shame and heartbreak seeped into her again.

"And then I realized that I had a choice. I could help protect you and the people I cared about...or I could continue to go chasing off after some monster, and leave you alone to wonder what happened."

She left out the other possibility she'd seriously considered...

Ichigo turned his attention back to her, and she tried to add some gentleness to the otherwise serious look she was giving him.

"When I run into a Hollow, I have to kill them then and there, or they may disappear and I'll never see them again. But when I do, I have to wonder if I'm letting someone else die and be consumed while I'm dealing with the Hollow in front of me.

"It's the existence I have, Ichigo, and if you follow this path, it's going to have to be something you have to deal with, too."

Ichigo looked like he was still trying to come to grips with this, but he still nodded his head. Rukia by now was starting to get just a little annoyed.

"Okay, what's going on here?"

Ichigo turned to the girl.

"It's none of you-"

"It's private, Kuchiki-hime; nothing you need worry about right now."

Rukia looked like she was going to protest for a moment, and then she thought better of it and decided a mild look of annoyance mixed with curiosity would suffice.

Shaolin's attention went back to Ichigo as she heard him sigh heavily. He looked like he was thinking about telling her something, much like Tatsuki had earlier, and then his eyes began to harden with resolve again, and he looked directly at the assassin.

"Obasan...thank you. Thank you...for being there for me and my family..."

The ex-shinigami smiled at him. The worst was over, she hoped.

"You're welcome, Ichigo."

He nodded at that, and then squared his shoulders as he seemed to make a decision of his own.

"Obasan, I'm sorry...but I can't just let this go. It's not the way I do things, you know that..."

She sighed sadly and nodded her head.

"I know that. And I know we're all stuck with what's going on. You're stuck with those powers, and with being one of the only people who can defend this city."

She looked at Rukia.

"You're stuck without your powers, and with a clock ticking over your head."

And then the ex-shinigami shrugged.

"And I'm stuck having to deal with this mess, too. We're all in this together, like it or not, and we need to start working together as well."

She held up a hand to head off Rukia's protests.

"I know I've been...less than kind to you Kuchiki-hime, but I'll try to mend my ways and be less of a problem to you."

Rukia seemed to think about that, and then sighed and shook her head in resignation.

"I guess that's the best I can hope for. And I'll...I'll see what I can do around here to pull my own weight. Unless you have suggestions?"

Shaolin arched an eyebrow in amusement.

"I might have a couple. One being that you could...undo what I did to Ichigo's body. It isn't harmed, and I doubt anyone would come in at this hour, but..."

The girl gave a knowing smile.

"I'll be nice. Besides, I need to get my own gigai..."

"By the way, why did you leave it in the first place?"

Rukia froze for a moment Shaolin's question, and then thought about it for a moment.

"I could keep up with Ichigo a little easier, and besides that..."

She flexed her shoulders a little.

"I think I actually feel a little better outside of that thing..."

"_I can not imagine why..."_

Shaolin nodded at the answer Rukia gave, and watched as the girl slowly phased through the roof. Then the ex-shinigami turned to Ichigo, smiling a little at the stunned expression on his face.

"What? She's technically a ghost, and I'm surprised you haven't picked up on that."

Ichigo threw a hand up behind his head and started rubbing his scalp in embarrassment.

"Well, I..."

Shaolin put a look of understanding on her face. She was tired, and worn out from the confrontation, but she still needed to say one more thing to him.

"Ichigo, I'll be willing to help you-"

His eyes lit up at the words, though there was still a little mistrust in his eyes. She sighed at that; that was her fault, and she was sure it was going to take a while for her to make up for that.

"_If_ you think long and hard about this. Right now, I'm just trying to get your friend's powers out of you and back into her. This is a hard life, with a lot of things that are really going to tear into your soul. You have to be willing to make the commitment; you have to pretty much give up your life..."

"_Uhm..."_

Hana's comment came at the same time as Ichigo's disbelieving stare, and Shaolin found her cheeks flushing a little.

"Sorry. But, you really need to put a lot of thought into this and not go by gut instinct. Trust me, if you do that you'll probably regret it."

Thoughts of a young shinigami coming to the Living World a century before flashed through Shaolin's mind.

Ichigo seemed to think about it for a minute, and then he sighed and nodded his head.

"All right, obasan. I'll give it the thought you want, but don't think you're going to get a different answer than you have. Now that I know about Mom..."

The ex-shinigami smiled sadly at that.

"I understand, and I'm already making some plans in case that happens. Now go get some rest; I'll collect Kuchiki-san and we can talk more about this after school tomorrow."

Ichigo nodded at that, and then started making his way – the long way – to his window.

"Good night, obasan."

"Good night, Ichigo."

Shaolin spent another minute on the roof, looking at the stars, and then started making her way to the ground.

"_That went better than it had any right to..."_

The ex-shinigami shrugged a little.

"You're probably right. But it did work...I think..."

"_We will see later, I am sure. Now what about your next step. What about Mei Xing, and what about the Shrieker?"_

As the assassin touched the ground and made for the house door, she sighed and shook her head a little.

"Dear cousin...I can deal with. At least for a while."

Shaolin looked up at the night sky as she waited for Rukia to come.

"And as for the monster who hurt Tatsuki-chan and the others...remember Grand Fisher. We're probably not going to be seeing the Shrieker for a while..."

* * *

><p>Shibata Yuuichi didn't know what to do.<p>

The monster that had killed mom was gone, the people that had been fighting it were gone...

And he'd left and just tried to find...somewhere...to hide and rest for a little while.

He tried not to think about a scary fact.

He was alone now, really alone for the first time ever.

And he was in this parrot's body, and Mommy wasn't ever coming back, was she...?

He just needed a place to be comfortable and think and...and just rest, he was so sleepy...

Fortunately, somebody had left one of the upper windows open in what Yuuichi realized was an elementary school. He'd come in here, where it was warmer and drier than outside and then sat down on the teacher's desk.

He'd figure out what to do tomorrow.

And maybe one of the kids here could help him.

He was sure they could; he could feel something like those nice men in black robes that had tried to help him a couple of time.

Maybe another was here, and they could help him...

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed and told me they liked the Shrieker battle in the last chapter. I sweated quite a bit over it (about two full days' worth of hard polishing), both because I wanted it to be good, and because I knew this would be something of a 'comeback chapter' (while I know you all like the story, I wanted the chapter to be worth the long wait). Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a comeback, was it...?<p>

As for Rukia, her attitudes and the mess she got herself in, I've been getting enough comments about that subject to elaborate on that. Rukia _is_ being arrogant in this story, at least so far, but that kind of could be figured out if you think about it; she barged in on his class, took over his closet and is having him do her job for her (there's also the little factor that Rukia is presumably getting a salary while he's doing all this work). It's not a pretty side to her, though I think it's accurate to portray it. And I think Shaolin's attitude towards the young lady is understandable; I will not apologize for that.

On the other hand, Rukia hasn't been dealt a very good hand. On top of that, I think her primary 'problem' (note the quotes) is that she's overcompensating all the time. She, a peasant, became a member of one of the highest clans in Soul Society for no reason she could see, and I'm sure the rest of the Kuchiki (not to mention the other nobles) constantly made her painfully aware of her background and the shame it brought to her adoptive family's name. About the only thing she was able to do was try to follow the rules of etiquette for the Kuchiki and the Gotei 13 as much as she could, and try to out-do them in that area. (It's the old thing of the middle class trying to ape the customs and manners of their social betters, only taken to an extreme.)

In essence, she indoctrinated herself. And remember, she's had _decades_ to do this, so her views would have gotten pretty hardened over that span of time.

Beyond that, I heard that I've been engaging in too much Rukia-bashing, and that I should be writing her in a more respectful manner. I'm not sure if I have, so I wanted to know from others: have I been getting too preachy in this story? I don't hate Rukia, but I do understand the difference between a character hating another character and the author hating a character, and I want to make sure I'm not engaging in the latter.

* * *

><p>And now for (once again tardy) responses to the reviews I got for the last chapter:<p>

_reality deviant_: Thanks for the kind review! I'm glad you like the AU I've created, and I hope I continue to please with what else I've shown you. And I'm glad at least a couple of people are interested in Karl; I always worry when I come up with a OC that he/she won't be liked. Don't worry, though, we'll be seeing more of him soon.

_QueenPersephoneofHades_: Well, I'm really glad you liked the last chapter! And again, sorry about how long that took; I'm going to try and not let that happen again.

_Ability King KK_: I'm glad you liked Chad's scenes; the first ones actually help because it shows rather than tells you that he's tough. And that in turn tells you how tough Shrieker must be by comparison.

(The idea for the 'bike-fu', BTW, was from a series called _Shrine of the Morning Mist_; a few times in the series the heroine would run over the top of the main bad guy with her bicycle, and I started thinking of her 'mad bike-fu skills'. And that led to this...)

As for Shaolin telling Ichigo about everything...well, you've seen something of the dam bursting in this chapter. In a few more, she won't have any choice... :)

_Yonomori Hayden Yuki_: Thanks for the review and the praise for the last chapter! While I love hearing from my "regulars", it's always good to hear from new people, too. And I'll try my best to keep up the good work!

"_guest"_: Thanks for the encouragement! As you can see, the next chapter is out on this story, and there are more to come; hopefully they'll please as much as what you've seen so far. And I do have some other projects in the works, though it'll be a while before I do anything with them.

_Fifth Horseman_: Glad you found the Orihime and Chad moments in the Shrieker fight so entertaining; they just kind of came to me, seemed reasonable given the characters, and were thrown in. And apparently it all worked out. :) Tatsuki being afraid of Shrieker also seemed to come to me when I thought about it; Orihime, in my mind, has enough mental flexibility to weather the idea of monsters living among us, but Tatsuki is more 'rational' and would probably have flipped out if faced with something like Shrieker (who, might I add, is a particularly vile member of his kind to boot).

As for Ichigo's attitude, in his defense he's only had Rukia as a guide to this world of shinigami and Hollows that he's found himself drawn into. He's not necessarily being stupid as he is ignorant, and Shaolin is admittedly not helping her case with him by having a negative opinion of Rukia.

And I'm very glad you liked the portrayal of Shaolin and the previous relationships of the characters. There will be a reveal, but I think it should be fairly obvious what happened if you think about where I'm going with Shaolin's backstory; her presence was a glue that didn't exist in the canon timeline.

Thanks for your support of this story, and I'm sorry I've been a poor updater. I'll admit I've been having a lot of stuff going on in my life the last several months; I think I have it mostly resolved now, so I should be able to update at a faster rate (I know I keep saying that, but this time I hope to mean that).

_Xerter_ (from Chapters 6&7): Thank you for the positive review! I'm glad you like the plot (I've always worried about that being a weak point of mine), and I'm glad that you and your sister are having fun with my Shaolin/Sui-Feng story; your right about there not being many stories about her, and I find it rewarding to put in a good entry. I hadn't originally intended for this story to get as intense as it has (you'll notice the earlier chapters have a lighter tone), though Sui-Feng is a passionate and intense person underneath the ice-queen persona she has, so it fits.

Your concerns about Rukia have been noted; I'm sorry if I've been upsetting you and your sister with my portrayal of her. I don't hate her; I think part of my problem is that I'm still something of a novice, and part is the fact that I can get into a 'standing on a soapbox' mode sometimes when I'm not careful. So I'll try to be less heavy-handed in the future, in this story as well as in any others I write.

And as for 'shipping in the story...you'll note I have a little Isshin/Shaolin (for some reason I think the two would go well together), the traditional unrequited Ichigo/Orihime, and maybe some unrequited Tatsuki/Ichigo. I don't intend for there to be a lot of romance or blatant pairing up in this story though; this is an adventure piece, not a romance novel. :)

P.S. Sorry to hear about your family's plight; I hope your house and everyone in it survived all right, and that you were able to get your lives back in order.

_HedonismBot_: Well, thanks for the praise! I tried to make the fight in the last chapter as good as I could, and I guess I succeeded. As for Grand Fisher...that'll be a while, and one concern I have right now is making sure the battle isn't simply a curb-stomp (though I have some ideas).

And to answer your random question – Shaolin does have a bankai in this time-line (she mentions as much in chapter 4); she just doesn't like to use it because it's big and flashy (and not exactly street-legal :).

_Leon the Bulletproof_: I'm glad you liked the story enough to give it a review. I find it easy to see why the Bounts weren't terribly popular (the arc dragged on for way too long, IMO, and I thought the concept was badly underused). If I do have them in this timeline (they will not be making an appearance in this story, as it's already crowed enough) I plan to have a somewhat different take on them while still trying to be true to the original characters and idea.

_X3n0s_: Thanks for your review; I'm always glad to hear from new people. And I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. Your comments about Rukia and her attitude I've tried to answer in the Author's Notes above. As for Shaolin being pig-headed, well that's part of her basic character (she can be very stubborn and has a 'mother knows best' attitude a lot of the time), and there are reasons other than friendship and so on for why she doesn't want to get him involved. You'll get to see them in later, and it won't be fun for her... :) (And thanks, BTW, for putting this story on Favorites. :)


	15. A Bee's Guest

Disclaimer: _Bleach_ is owned and written by Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump magazine. This story is not being written for profit or fame, but simply because I'm crazy enough to think I can write a major epic all by myself. :)

A thank you to _SilverOsprey_, _Raging Berserker_, _Burn Shadow_, _Naomi Shihoin_, _Ero-kun_, _ChaosSerpent13_, _OutlawKnight_, _Animewarrior12_, _your local SIMUVAC_, _ShotgunWilly_, _mcinnes135_, _Phillbie_, _ZM_, _shadow8691_, _Isangtao_, _Culebra del Sol_, _satsuki75_, _deSloc1_, and _hi1235_ (gee, that's a lot of names... :) for putting me on Favorite Story and/or Story Alert; the support is appreciated, and I've been listing names just to say 'Hi!', not to throw the story's apparent popularity in anyone's face (even if everyone knows this, I still think it should be said).

Once again I've kept people waiting for this...and waiting...and waiting...

I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm going to try and put out a new chapter at the end of every month (at least) for this story from now on. I feel like I've been majorly abusing the good graces of my audience the past year or so, and even if that isn't true, I still want to finish this story sometime before the coming of the next century... :)

With that in mind, here's the next chapter...

* * *

><p>"<em>Now that you have had some rest, what do you plan to do concerning Ichigo-san and Arisawa-san?"<em>

Shaolin thought about the words as she made her way through the garden of her dojo. Her head _was_ a bit clearer now that she had gotten some more sleep; she'd simply collapsed when she'd gotten back home from the Kurosakis, though whether from simple exhaustion or acceptance of the situation she couldn't say.

It did trouble her that something like that had happened. She couldn't afford to push herself too far, what with all the things happening in her existence and the lives of her friends right now.

One more change in her existence she'd have to deal with.

She shook that thought away and thought about an answer for Hana.

"Tatsuki-chan is easy enough. I think running into Shrieker like she did will probably put her off of wanting to get involved."

She held up a hand to silence Hana, even though she knew the mod-soul couldn't see the gesture.

"And if she does...well, I'll try to deal with that when it comes..."

"_And Ichigo-san...?"_

Shaolin stopped in the garden and closed her eyes.

"That's his decision, like I told him last night. If he really wants to learn how to be a shinigami...I'll see what I can do. Although there's not much I _can_ do..."

After a moment, Shaolin started again, making her way to a small pine tree at the side of the garden, judged it satisfactory for her purposes, and then started doing what she'd come here to do.

"_Speaking of which, would you mind telling me what you are doing right now?"_

Hana's words made Shaolin stop again, before she realized that her friend was just asking a general question. It was sometimes hard to remember that the gikongan usually couldn't see or hear anything when she didn't have a body, like right now...

Right now she couldn't see the silver-gray piece of ribbon Shaolin was tying around a branch the tree. It wasn't much, and wouldn't be noticed by anyone who didn't know what it was, but...

The ex-shinigami thought about what to say, and then sighed as she realized that she was beginning to let go of some of her secrets; she didn't need to be making more, especially not with a friend.

"I'm working on dealing with Mei Xing."

Shaolin finished tying the knot off, took a moment to look over her handiwork, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"_And what have you just been doing on that score?"_

"Setting up a meeting with her..."

There was a long pause, and Shaolin braced herself for whatever Hana might have to say.

"_Why...why on Earth would you want to do something like that...?"_

Shaolin smiled wanly as she walked away from the tree.

"Because, instead of being concerned with the children, I thought about her after I woke up. I hate to say it, but summoning her seems the best option."

"_That does not say good things about our situation."_

The assassin shook her head, and took a moment to enjoy the post-dawn morning of the sky. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful early summer day, the current events notwithstanding.

"I need to take something off my plate, Hana, and this seems to be the easiest thing."

The pause that followed held the mod-soul's skepticism; Shaolin took that as an invitation to continue.

"Look, if she's been here for any length of time, she knows about Ichigo; you can't come near this place and _not_ know about him unless you're spiritually dead. And if she's been here the last few days..."

She could sense Hana nodding her head.

"_...she almost certainly knows about the 'new shinigami'. And if she had any real interest in him at all, she would have investigated him, much like Kuchiki-hime did."_

"And I doubt Ichigo would have survived a battle with a fully-trained 4th Seat, and never mind her other talents..."

Mei Xing was a lethal ninja, from Shaolin's own clan; she'd always been ahead in the technical things that mattered for such work.

And the ex-shinigami had been wondering for a while if her cousin had achieved bankai yet. Shaolin had, and she thought she'd detected the 'hardening' of one's energies that accompanied that lofty state the last couple of times the two of them had met.

But she didn't know and...

"_And yet that poses the question of why you are inviting the woman here, to your home."_

The assassin took a moment to get her thoughts back in order, even as she paused before the door to her house.

"Because I need to know why she's here so I can get rid of her. I can't bluff her, since I don't know what lie to tell. And I don't even want to think about fighting her in the middle of Karakura..."

She could sense Hana nodding her non-existent head.

"_The best result would involve you ending her existence, and then the Gotei 13 sending someone else to 'deal with the situation'."_

"Especially if a member of the Kuchiki is involved in the mess."

As she entered the house and made her way to the kitchen, a thought occurred to Shaolin.

"Do you think maybe she's here about Kuchiki-hime?"

There was a pause from Hana.

"_That might explain a few things, such as why the Kuchiki themselves seem not to have taken an interest in their daughter's disappearance. But that brings its own set of problems..."_

Shaolin nodded her head.

"Such as seeing what it's going to cost to keep her from bringing anyone else down here. And why she hasn't done it yet."

"_Hence your apparent need to talk with the woman. And are you going to mention this to our illustrious guest?"_

Shaolin thought about it, and then decided to shake her head.

"No, she doesn't need to be frightened. Besides, Mei Xing is discreet; if she hasn't paid Kuchiki-hime a visit yet, then she isn't going to bother her now."

She ignored the feeling of worry coming from Hana, instead focusing on a thought that had come to her. She changed direction, going for her bedroom instead of the kitchen area; As soon as she arrived, Shaolin opened up the closet and went for the trunk hidden away in a corner.

There were a couple of the items she'd placed in a chest there, locked away when she'd given up going out all the time. Now she reached in and took out a pair of them, examining them in the morning light coming through the bedroom window.

A pair of bracers made of thin iron, laced through with a filigree pattern that was of some silvery-blue metal that she'd never been able to identify. Karl hadn't bothered to tell her what it was, though it seemed to be more than effective against anything made of reishi.

Even when she'd gone out to deal with Hiyori's find...had she been on the _other side of the world_ only last week?...the ex-shinigami had kept these things put away.

She had no need of them in Karakura.

Shaolin closed her eyes and sighed at the feelings flooding through her with this action.

It was another reminder that what she had earlier hoped for around here was over now. The peaceful existence, the hope that Ichigo would grow up in something resembling a normal human life.

At least she wasn't as conflicted about this as she had been with the idea of summoning Mei Xing here.

"_Well, try not to be too somber this morning, Shaolin."_

The assassin smirked a little as she opened her eyes and shook her head.

"I have good reason to be..."

She looked out the window of her room, to the tree and the cloth fluttering in the morning breeze.

"_Not really."_

The gikongan's words jolted Shaolin a little, even as she started to leave the room.

"After what I just told you earlier?"

She could feel Hana shaking her non-existent head.

"_No. I will admit having to deal with your cousin is a far from pleasant prospect, but we – _you_ – have dealt with things like this before. And the Hollows as well. You will get through this."_

Shaolin stopped, feeling as though a hand had been placed on her shoulder, and she could feel Hana smiling at her.

"_Besides, there is some good with what is going on with Ichigo-san. This may be the end of one era for you – for all of us – but try to think of it as the beginning of a new start with the boy. With his family, even..."_

The ex-shinigami thought about her friend's words as she started moving again, and then decided to smile and nod her head.

"You're right, Hana. I am going to get through this. It's just going to be a pain in the butt..."

As she entered the kitchen Shaolin could see Rukia sitting at the table in her high school uniform, looking over some papers while only half-concentrating on breakfast. It took a moment before the younger woman noticed that she had company; Rukia looked up, took note of who it was with a slight sourness, and then looked back down at the papers.

Shaolin found herself curious enough to come a little closer, and found herself staring at a pile of homework from the school. It made her smirk, and when Rukia looked up again, she raised an eyebrow.

"What, you thought I didn't do stuff like this?"

The assassin actually did think on that for a moment, but then realized what kind of person she was talking to.

"Actually, I guess I shouldn't be surprised; you are a shinigami, and you have a bureaucracy to deal with."

She looked down at the papers again.

"I'm sure paperwork was part of it."

Rukia nodded, and then smiled a little.

"I have to do paperwork sometimes at the barracks; Taichou likes to delegate some of that stuff to the rank and file. Keeps us involved in the affairs of our unit, or something like that."

Shaolin nodded at that, and then noticed the characters Rukia was writing. She couldn't help but smile in approval.

"Your handwriting is very good, Kuchiki-sama."

The girl's face flushed a little at the praise, and for once turned a genuine smile on her host.

"Thank you. It wasn't very good, but I've been getting help on it; I have to because of the name I carry."

Shaolin walked away from the table and started getting her own breakfast when she thought of something.

She turned around and bowed low to Rukia.

"Speaking of that, I want to apologize about the way I treated you earlier."

The girl stopped what she was doing and looked at her host in surprise.

"After the things you said I did?"

The ex-shinigami stopped and looked at the floor.

"You did do those things, true, but...I've been under a great deal of stress lately, and Ichigo is very dear to me."

She took a moment to look Rukia directly in the eyes.

"Wouldn't you act a little crazy if a loved one was being threatened by events?"

The younger shinigami seemed like she was thinking about it, and then she nodded.

"I accept your apology, and I understand how you feel."

A rueful smile crossed her lips as she seemed to think about something.

"I guess I can be a pain sometimes. I apparently am to my 'dear brother'..."

The mention of that man piqued Shaolin's interest as she came to the table and started into her own meal.

"By the way, how is Lord Kuchiki Byakuya?"

"_Why would you...?"_

Rukia turned her head up from the table, a look of mild shock on her face.

"He's fine as far as I know. And how do you know him?"

The ex-shinigami shrugged.

"I ran into him a couple of times a long while ago. He looked like a fairly decent person, though pretty stiff; I mean, he is a high noble..."

She didn't bother to mention 'long while ago' referred to the time she still walked the lanes of the Seireitei herself.

Shaolin noticed the look on Rukia's face was still slightly stunned, though some bitterness had crept into it.

"Yeah, he's a high noble, and I'm just..."

The ex-shinigami arched an eyebrow.

"You're just what?"

The girl just shook her head a little.

"Never mind, it's of no import to someone like you..."

The young shinigami decided not to continue and Shaolin didn't press her. The two women sat at the breakfast table quietly eating their food for several minutes, with Rukia continuing with her homework.

Then she stopped and looked at Shaolin with a calm curiosity.

"May I ask a question?"

The assassin thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.

"Go ahead."

For a moment the girl looked like she was thinking about whether to continue.

"Last night, when you were talking to Ichigo about how his mother died..."

Shaolin felt a twinge of the old guilt enter her.

"Yes, what about it?"

Rukia paused again, still looking unsure about broaching a sensitive topic.

"Well, how do you know Ichigo and his family?"

The assassin lowered her eyes a little as a mix of emotions flooded her – sadness, happiness, desire to keep what she knew hidden – and she thought for a moment about what to say.

"His mother was a dear friend of mine. She helped me out a bad time in my life, and I've never really been able to repay her for that."

Rukia nodded a little.

"I gathered from the way you acted last night. And I noticed that you also seemed to know Ichigo's father...well."

Shaolin started a little at the jab, and then nodded her head as an embarrassed smile threatened to creep up her face.

"Yeah, you could say that. In fact...that was probably what got Masaki-san killed."

The ex-shinigami found she couldn't say anything as she felt the shame begin to well up in her; she was trying to keep it down, so as not to disturb her guest. Rukia seemed to think on the matter for a moment before answering.

"You wanted to be close to them, but got a little 'too close'."

Shaolin found she couldn't quite keep all of the emotion out of her voice.

"I don't have many friends-"

"I wonder why..."

Shaolin decided to ignore the interruption and the raised eyebrow from across the table.

"I wanted to stay near to the ones I had. So that's why I live here now."

Rukia nodded her head again.

"And like I said, you got a little too close for comfort."

The ex-shinigami resisted the impulse to sigh sadly, and then gave in and made a nod of her own.

"I started going 'out' just to give them some space, and then..."

Now the emotions were becoming stronger; Shaolin was surprised that she could feel this way still, even when talking fairly abstractly about those days.

"I wasn't fast enough. I..."

She couldn't speak now. The image of Grand Fisher looming over the mangled body of Masaki in the rain tore its way through Shaolin's mind, and again she could feel the desperation, the anger, the self-loathing. She could still feel the tensing of her muscles as she poured every last bit of energy to close the distance between herself and the monster who'd killed her friend...

It took the ex-shinigami a moment to find her voice.

"I did manage to hurt that bastard. Badly."

Some small part of her mind conjured up the sound of Grand Fisher's shriek of pain as blades had met flesh. It was the only thing about that afternoon that had comforted her since.

When she managed to pull her mind back into the present and look up, she found herself surprised at Rukia's expression.

The teenager had a haunted look in her eyes, and it took a moment for the assassin to realize...

"You too...?"

Rukia closed her eyes and looked away. For a moment, Shaolin wondered if the girl was going to say anything.

"I managed to get mine, but... I lost someone I cared lot about myself."

If anything, the younger shinigami looked even more troubled than Shaolin.

"_It would seem you two have a great deal more in common than either of us thought."_

The assassin couldn't help but agree with her friend, and for once she was feeling bad with herself about her attitude concerning Rukia; she felt selfish...maybe even a little dirty.

The teenager managed to gather herself a little.

"I had to kill him, you know... I don't think his family's ever going to forgive me..."

Shaolin had to nod sadly at that as her own memories flooded into her.

"Masaki-san didn't have blood family other than her children, really, but I don't think any of her friends forgave me, either..."

Rukia nodded in response to that, and they spent a moment in silence.

Another minute or two passed in silence with breakfast until Rukia took out a small device that Shaolin thought was a cellphone, and then realized was something more...

The assassin pointed at the object.

"Isn't that the thing you use to track Hollows with?"

Rukia nodded again, still looking the information on its screen.

"It doesn't really track Hollows, though it can do that too. It's basically a communicator my superiors use to tell me when a Hollow is going to arrive in the Living World."

Shaolin could feel Hana's interest being piqued.

"_Imagine that..."_

The assassin had to agree; such a thing would be invaluable in what she had done over the last century.

Perhaps she'd see if Kisuke could get her one of those...

Rukia didn't seem to be done, though, as a mischievous smile crept across her face.

"It also works in the other direction; I can communicate with Soul Society whenever I want. Think about that... I could have told Soul Society about this; Ichigo would have been gone by the time you even heard anything about it. But I decided not to."

The words shocked the ex-shinigami, as her mind ran through the implications.

"_She has you there, Shaolin."_

Shaolin almost ignored her friend's words as she took another moment to absorb what Rukia had said, and what that said of the girl.

Feeling compelled to do so, she got up to her feet and bowed to the girl again.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-hime, for letting my godson live. I-"

The younger woman waved the matter away, something which caused a flash of anger to flit through Shaolin.

"Don't worry about it. As you said earlier, I owe Ichigo quite a bit. Not getting him killed would be the least I could do."

The ex-shinigami supposed her younger counterpart was right, but the dismissal still stung a little.

Then again, Yoruichi-sama used to do that sort of thing all the time...

As she sat back down, Shaolin noticed Rukia looking at the bracers on the table with more than a little curiosity, tinged with fear.

"What are those things?"

She arched a suspicious eyebrow at the assassin's lack of response.

"Those are Quincy artifacts, aren't they?"

Shaolin just shrugged.

"What if they are?"

Now Rukia's eyes narrowed.

"You're a Quincy, aren't you?"

The ex-shinigami just shook her head honestly.

"No, but I had a lot of dealings with them over the years. Why? Is that a problem?"

Rukia looked like she was going to argue for a moment, and then thought better of it and just started shaking her head in mild despair.

"I can't believe this..."

Through it all, Hana had remained silent, though Shaolin could feel a certain uneasiness coming from the mod-soul.

"_You never did tell me how involved you were with the Quincy, Shaolin..."_

And she didn't really feel like saying right now.

"Whatever they might be, I figured I needed them; Ichigo's inexperienced, and as for you..."

At the dark look given her by Rukia, the assassin shrugged.

"I mean no personal offense, but you have to face facts..."

Shaolin held up one hand and started counting fingers off.

"You have no zanpaktou, your kidou spells are on the fritz, and you're largely relying on hiding out and hiding behind Ichigo for survival. I'm just taking what precautions I feel necessary. If that causes you problems, then I again apologize."

The young shinigami started shaking her head slightly in denial, even though her expression seemed more reasonable to the idea.

"This is crazy, I..."

Then something seemed to crumple in Rukia and she just looked downward at the pile of homework in front of her.

"I should be hunting Hollows, doing my job, not...not _this_. My existence is going straight to hell, and...it isn't even my fault."

She looked earnestly up at Shaolin, and the assassin felt another pang of pity for the girl.

"Okay, great...I screwed up talking to Ichigo when I should have been looking for the Hollow, but... I'm going to lose everything, aren't I? I mean my reputation's going to be shot, and it'll probably be forever before I'm given another assignment."

Rukia looked away and her mood darkened again.

"And never mind what 'nii-sama' will do to me for 'sullying the family name'..."

Shaolin absorbed the rant, and took her time to answer; she wasn't sure how to feel about the girl right now. In the assassin's mind Rukia still had a great deal of ownership over this mess; the reminder made it so the assassin couldn't find it in herself to feel entirely for her guest.

But the younger shinigami did have a point; she wasn't going to get out of this mess unscathed either, was she?

Shaolin made a show of sighing in sympathy.

"Look, I understand you; I think I've made it clear I don't want this state of affairs to continue either."

Rukia cast a tired glance across the table.

"Yeah, you've made that _very_ clear."

The ex-shinigami chose to outwardly ignore the verbal swipe, though it did sting inside.

"Well, Kisuke-san's agreed to look into the matter of what happened to the two of you. He sounded pretty intrigued about it, and I'm sure he'll put you two through a very...'thorough' examination."

Rukia took a moment to stare at Shaolin.

"Him? He's just a..."

The older woman smiled at her counterpart.

"Let's just say that he's more than he seems even to you and leave it that for now. Trust me, if there's anyone in this city who can reverse this mess and get you and Ichigo back to normal, it'll be him and his associates."

Now Rukia was looking at Shaolin like the older woman was crazy. The assassin just shrugged.

"What? Were you planning on just waiting for this mess to wear off naturally?"

The fact that the girl started spluttering a little confirmed the question, and the ex-shinigami found herself trying not to slap a hand over her face.

"_And just when you two were making progress..."_

Shaolin couldn't believe this; the girl had made no effort to actively reverse her situation, even though she knew it was pretty dire.

Then again, what was Rukia supposed to do, when she had no creditable people she knew of to help her?

The assassin just hoped that after the time that had already passed, Kisuke would be able to do something. At best case, tomorrow he'd figure out what was going on, give Rukia her powers back, and then Shaolin could start training Ichigo in the use of his powers.

That part she wasn't going to go back on, not now.

Too many things had happened.

As she tried to figure out what more to say to Rukia, the ex-shinigami found herself thinking about how much easier things had been in the old days.

Back when Ichigo and Tatsuki were children, and the concerns of the spirit world seemed far away...

* * *

><p>"<em>What are you doing?"<em>

"_You know you look stupid, don't you?"_

"_You aren't looking for ghosts, are you...?"_

The child's teasing words kept coming back to Tatsuki's mind, making their way through the years since they'd been said by her younger self.

She'd made fun of Ichigo back when she'd said them, back when she and Uryuu would see their friend staring off into what seemed to be empty space.

Now the words just sounded stupid...and more than a little cruel, given what she knew now.

She wondered what else he'd seen, and she shivered a little at the thought of a boy being able to see...monsters like the one she'd run into last night, to know the bogeyman was real and not just made up.

It was a miracle her oldest friend wasn't in a mental institute...

Tatsuki took a moment from her thoughts and looked up from the tiled floor. Her eyes widened a little as she found that she'd wandered into the halls of the school, as opposed to the roof.

Then again, there wasn't much point in doing that, not with Orihime in the clinic still resting from her injuries. The fact that her newest friend was all right for the most part helped, but Tatsuki still found herself feeling guilty about what she'd allowed to happen.

The events of the night before played through her mind now, and she could see it again.

That monster from...wherever the hell it had come from...

And it was searching for sensei...

She turned to one of the windows and rested her hands on the sill while looking out at the bright mid-day scene beyond. It was so utterly incongruous with what Tatsuki had gone through last night that a part of her mind just wanted to reject it as some fevered dream.

But she had the damaged clothes to prove what had happened.

Now her mind was trying to put all of that into the larger picture, trying to figure out what was going on in the larger sense.

Feng-sensei had admitted to hunting those creatures, like something out of an anime or a monster movie. It did sound crazy on the surface, but a lot of things made sense now that Tatsuki thought about it.

For one thing, the fact that the older woman was something of a...'spiritual dead zone' was probably most accurate, though it sounded a little too creepy for Tatsuki's tastes...would be useful in hunting down whatever those things were.

And the fact that she was very proficient in combat fit in.

So did the fact that sensei had, for someone of her abilities, kept a very low profile over the years. Tatsuki was sure the woman could have easily become a martial arts movie star, or a medal-winning athlete. But there were no trophies or posters in her home, no stories of professional competitions or tournaments, nothing like that...

And maybe that was why she hadn't married, or even gone dating for as long as Tatsuki had known her.

The brunette student gave a small, sad smile for her teacher.

"Thank you, Feng-sensei. For giving us some peace..."

As she made that connection, a few more began to leap into Tatsuki's mind.

She couldn't imagine there was just Sensei going around and hunting monsters; that would be ridiculous. There had to be more out there, quietly doing their jobs to keep the country...maybe the whole world...from being overrun by those things.

Maybe they operated alone...maybe there was a secret order...

And then it hit Tatsuki like a fist in the face.

That was why those childhood memories of her and Uryuu and Ichigo were coming into her head right now.

The white uniforms that Uryuu and his grandfather had gone wandering around in. And the fact that Uryuu's father had very much the same color scheme in his wardrobe...

Granted, Tatsuki had never seen her mentor in a white uniform, but she spent a lot of time with the Ishidas, had known them very well...

At least before Masaki's death.

All of a sudden, Feng Shaolin was becoming an even cooler person; Tatsuki's mind saw the woman wearing a white cape and hood, battling monsters with...well, whatever they used to fight monsters with.

It was something that was way out of Tatsuki's league...

"Arisawa-san...?"

She turned at the sound of Uryuu's voice; she couldn't keep the annoyance from her expression at the fact that he was using that distant form of address again. He was as cool as usual except...there was some actual concern in his eyes, even as he adjusted his glasses.

"Coming to check up on me again?"

He started at the arch question.

"Why would I...?"

Tatsuki sighed and shook her head.

"Never mind...if you don't want to talk about it..."

They stood in silence for a moment, Uryuu still looking at her with a slight unease, which she could see was starting to turn into shame. There was a part of her that felt bad about doing that to him, but there was also the part of her that was glad to make him feel like that.

After all, if he was a monster-hunter, where the hell had he been the night before?

"Are you all right...?"

The words were hesitant, spoken in a way that said Uryuu didn't really want to admit he might know what concern was. But Tatsuki could still feel some of the shame coming off from him, and she just...knew that he was aware of what had happened earlier.

"I'm fine, thank you. Orihime's still in the clinic, but she's going to be all right. You _can_ go visit her if you're that concerned."

His cheeks flushed slightly, and it took some willpower for Tatsuki to not arch an eyebrow at the show.

"No thank you...I..."

She sighed at her former friend's continuing floundering on the subject.

"Did you want to talk to me about the monster that attacked us last night?"

That got a shocked reaction from Uryuu.

"Monster? What are you talking about-?"

Now Tatsuki couldn't help but glare at him.

"Uryuu, you may be good at sewing, but you suck at lying. Especially around me."

She walked up to him, to get literally in his face just a little; it gratified her just a little to see him sweating even more.

"Yes, there was thing out there, and it damn near killed Chad on top of everything else. I'm going to probably have nightmares about it."

Tatsuki got close enough to almost touch him, craning her neck back so she could continue to lock eyes with him.

"Don't tell me you don't know anything about it."

She let him stand there, looking more than a little unnerved, and then he decided to answer.

"You can see those things now, can you?"

She nodded, and Uryuu looked for a minute like he wasn't sure what to do or say. There was something in his eyes that said he was mad about something, or maybe someone.

Tatsuki could guess who that might be and it made her sigh even as she nodded in response to his question.

"You're still taking orders from your dad, aren't you?"

His expression turned into one of shock and then a little anger.

"That's none of your business, Arisawa..."

The use of her surname _again_ got Tatsuki's blood up, and she raised her hand to slap him. Then she thought better of it and just threw her hands up in the air.

"Fine, whatever... As you can see, I'm perfectly fine, just a little banged up and...well, maybe I'm scared, but..."

She shook her head, even as she saw Uryuu regain his composure.

"What happened to us, Uryuu. I thought we were friends, you and me and Ichigo. I mean...what happened to that...?"

The young man sighed and adjusted his glasses. He seemed to be annoyed, but for some reason Tatsuki could feel the same kind of sorrow that she was feeling.

"You know what happened."

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked heavenward.

"Yeah, Ichigo's mom gets herself killed and then your dad has a snit about you getting near Feng-sensei..."

She locked eyes with him again.

"Or me...or Ichigo... And you've been a credit to your father ever since."

He nodded at that and then turned to leave.

"I think that about sums it up. I'm glad you're all right; I'd hate to think that something had happened to you, regardless of how you feel about me."

He took a few steps, and then stopped and turned his head to look at her again. There was a little pity in those eyes, and it made her mad to see it.

"I'm sorry you've gotten caught up in this. I really am."

Tatsuki wanted to say something, but found herself sighing in frustration as she watched Uryuu walk away.

There was a part of her that wanted to follow along and try to talk to him, but she decided against it.

She wanted to be alone with her thoughts again, and it didn't look like talking further would do any good, so she made a point of turning and walking in the direction opposite of the one Uryuu was following.

It still made her sad when she thought about it, about what might have been had Masaki lived.

But the woman had died six years ago and the friendships centered around Feng-sensei had fallen apart.

And there had been nothing Tatsuki could do but watch it happen.

Nothing any of them could do.

She shook her head and forced her mood to improve.

Nothing also stopped her from at least trying to make things better, and who knew what the future held in store.

She had to believe in that.

"I can't believe this..."

The sound of Rukia's voice coming from a nearby door stopped Tatsuki in her tracks.

"To think that this would be happening to me..."

The young martial artist thought about just going on her way; she was wandering around the halls of the school herself, so she had nothing to complain about if she saw someone else doing the same.

But it still intrigued her a little what Rukia might be doing here and what she might be talking to herself about.

The door was a little ajar, and that helped add to Tatsuki's curiosity. So she decided to just walk up to it and look inside.

A typical classroom, neat chairs in rows an large wooden desk at one end, sat empty with the noonday light streaming through the windows.

Rukia was standing near those windows, looking...

'Depressed' would have been the word Tatsuki would have used in this case; the transfer student had her arms crossed over her chest and she was looking at the floor more than anything else.

"I'm sure nii-sama would be having fun with this..."

She looked heavenward.

"Can you see me now? Are you passing judgment on me 'brother'?"

Tatsuki was confused by that; it sounded like Rukia was talking to a ghost, though in the way a normal person would do such things. The brunette seriously doubted there was a ghost in the room, especially as she couldn't feel one here.

She also couldn't feel Rukia's presence here, either. The girl seemed to be lacking an...aura, much like Feng-sensei...

Could she be...?

Tatsuki stood there, thinking very hard about what she wanted to do, whether she wanted to disturb what she was beginning to realize was another monster-hunter, or at least one in training. But that made her want to know more, and so she sighed, steeled herself and pushed the door open.

The motion of the door caught Rukia's attention, and when she saw who was there her face gained a frown.

Tatsuki sighed again, though internally this time as she tried to plaster a smile on her face.

This was going to be difficult, wasn't it?

Rukia closed her eyes for a moment, and then produced a smile of her own as she opened them again.

"Hello, Arisawa-san... What are you doing here?"

Tatsuki shrugged her shoulders

"Just wandering around, I guess... And you?"

The petite transfer student returned the shrug and looked away a little.

"I was just wandering around, thinking about the test Ochi-sensei just gave us. I think I blew it and... What?"

Tatsuki cursed herself inwardly, but she couldn't help the feeling she'd just had at the other girl's words, and she also couldn't help the frown that had formed on her face.

She thought about what to say, and then decided to just screw up her courage and say the truth.

After all, Feng-sensei sounded like she'd been doing some of that just the last day or two.

"You're not telling me the truth, are you?"

Even though Tatsuki had tried to express the words in as neutral a voice as she could, she could see Rukia's expression grow brittle.

"Are you...accusing me of being a liar?"

Tatsuki stopped and then sighed, letting her shoulders slump just a little.

This was going to be a mess, but there was no use for it now.

"It's not that, just... I can just...tell when something isn't right, I guess. Like I can tell you're not telling me the truth right now. And if that means I'm calling you a liar, then I guess I am."

She braced herself for Rukia's response, and the other girl _was_ mad for a moment.

Then something seemed to change in Rukia's eyes, as though she had a revelation of some sort, and then she just closed her eyes and sighed in frustration.

"I should have known..."

Tatsuki's eyebrows raised.

"What?"

Rukia seemed to take a moment to decide whether to say anything.

"Nothing...nothing... It's just..."

She shook her head, a look of resignation now on her face.

"What kind of a mess did I get dropped into anyway?"

Even as she watched the other girl going through a minor meltdown, Tatsuki had another epiphany about the situation.

Feng-sensei was getting on in years – at least for someone who hunted things like that monster the night before – and had no children that her student knew about. Taking another look at Rukia, Tatsuki considered the possibility the transfer student could be such an heir, and then dismiss that; she could never see Sensei just leaving her child off...wherever Rukia had come from.

But if there was an organization of sorts, surely they would have sent someone to be Sensei's eventual replacement.

That did explain a lot...though why the new girl would be hauling Ichigo around...

Rukia took notice that Tatsuki was zoning out a bit, and an annoyed look crossed her face.

"What do you...?"

And then it came to her...

Rukia couldn't see spirits, could she?

She knew Ichigo had denied it and tried to hide it, but she was sure he'd been able to see ghosts, or at least _something_...

And the fact that a putative monster-hunter couldn't even see what she was hunting...

No wonder Feng-sensei had been so exasperated with this girl.

All of a sudden, Tatsuki felt a lot of the strain she'd been feeling melt away.

She'd been an idiot, about Ichigo and about Rukia, and the realization made her start to laugh to herself and at herself.

The other girl, of course, didn't understand this, and grew more than a little annoyed at what she probably thought was laughter directed at her.

"What?"

Tatsuki managed to calm herself down some, and smiled as warmly as she could manage to Rukia.

"I'm sorry...please forgive me. It's just...I...I don't know what I was thinking, Rukia. I had seen you with Ichigo and you're always dragging him off everywhere... And I thought..."

A tired frown came over the transfer student's face.

"You thought we were really...'involved'."

At Tatsuki's nod, Rukia closed her eyes and sighed, and then she gave a rueful smile.

"Don't worry, I already have someone...just if..."

Before she said anything more, she seemed to think better of her words and waved the whole matter away.

"Well, it's better than some things people have been saying about us."

Tatsuki froze as a bout of self-consciousness surged through her. Maybe that was another reason why she'd come to this part of the school, to get away from the 'harem talk'.

Not that she was too upset by ridiculous high school goings-on, but...

Rukia spared a glance at Tatsuki.

"I do wish you'd thought of that before Feng-san started all that stuff."

Before the brunette could say anything, Rukia's expression became conspiratorial.

"Though with your concern about Ichigo, I wonder what your feelings about him _really_ are..."

Tatsuki could feel her jaw drop and her eyes practically pop out of her head. She couldn't think, she only...

"That's none of-!"

Rukia waved the outburst away.

"Forget it. But I am curious now: what do you think is going on?"

Tatsuki hesitated; it took her a moment to calm down from the jibe and then she wasn't entirely sure what she should tell the other girl. Then she figured she had nothing to lose and that she probably wasn't telling Rukia anything she didn't already know.

She explained her theory about what was going on with Feng-sensei, Rukia and Ichigo. After she finished, she saw it was now Rukia's turn to have her jaw drop.

It took the shorter woman a moment to be able to say anything.

"This is unbelievable! I..."

She sighed and turned her face away from Tatsuki.

"It's too late to try and wipe your memories...and it probably wouldn't work anyway..."

The idea of wiping memories made the brunette student feel momentarily upset, but then she calmed herself down.

After all, these monster hunters had to have some way of cleaning up their messes; people would probably panic if they found out about this stuff.

She knew she had...

Tatsuki affected an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, but it happened and-"

The petite transfer student turned her attention back to Tatsuki.

"I'm not blaming you...it's just that... Gods, this is ridiculous..."

Rukia sighed again and rubbed her forehead for a few moments, and then she spared Tatsuki a wary glance.

"I suppose you want to get involved in this stuff, now that you've seen it? Like Ichigo seems to?"

Tatsuki felt a surge of instinct wanting to say 'yes', but then she stopped herself.

After what had happened last night, after what she'd seen and went through...

She looked away a little from Rukia and crossed her arms over her chest, unsure of herself for one of the few times in her life.

"I don't know, really..."

She hated the feeling, but she had to say it.

Rukia nodded, a serious look on her face now.

"Then your sensei did you no favors. You know about this, and yet you can't do anything about it. For someone like you, that has to be torture. Or it will be if it isn't."

She closed her eyes and shook her head a little.

"That woman's obviously second-rate. Why did I have to get stuck with her...?"

Outrage surged through Tatsuki at the words and she raised her fist threateningly.

"Don't insult Feng-sensei like that!"

All Rukia did was calmly look at the fist and seemingly dismiss it; the look both infuriated Tatsuki and made her feel a little more respect for the other girl at the same time.

"I'll say whatever I want about that woman. And whatever you think about..."

Then her shoulders sagged and a forlorn, tired look came over Rukia's face.

"...I'm sorry. I've just been under a lot of stress, especially since Feng-san arrived. And what with everything that's happened."

Tatsuki wasn't quite sure what to say about that; Rukia's tone matched her expression, and it made the martial artist lower her hand. For just a moment she got the idea that the transfer student seemed to be much older than she looked.

After another moment, Rukia seemed to shake off some of the weariness and turned to Tatsuki.

"By the way, how are Chad and Orihime?"

It stunned the brunette to see genuine concern for other people on the other girl's face. For some reason she could tell it wasn't being faked, and it made her wonder if she'd misjudged Rukia.

She sighed as she tried to figure out what to say.

"They're okay, the last I heard. Chad's going to be in the hospital for a while, though."

Rukia nodded at that, looking a little relieved.

"That's good. It must have been pretty scary having to be chased by something like a Hollow."

Tatsuki's face screwed up a little as she heard the unfamiliar term...at least she thought it was a term.

"Is that what they're called...'Hollows'?"

The other girl nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah...I think it's because they're empty inside, always hungry for peoples' souls."

Tatsuki wasn't sure what made her face pale more, the thought that it was her...her _soul_ that the thing was after…or the fact that Rukia said it so calmly, in such a matter-of-fact way...

She'd heard of people getting desensitized to things like this, but...

Rukia seemed to notice her companion's discomfort; she didn't smile or take any kind of obvious pleasure in it, but did seem to have an air of vindication about her.

"'Feng-sensei' didn't mention that, did she?"

All the martial artist could do was shake her head.

Rukia kept her features controlled, but a slight smile crept onto her face.

"Just keep it in consideration the next time you leap to her defense."

Tatsuki waited for a little to get her emotions under control, and remember that the thing was gone and her encounter with it was in the past.

And these people almost certainly had things covered...

"At least that thing's going to be gone for a while..."

The statement made Tatsuki turn her head in interest. A slight chill ran down her spine at the casual air in Rukia's words, and she began to wonder if things _were_ under control.

"What do you mean?"

Apparently, the petite transfer student chose to ignore the rising worry in Tatsuki's voice. That, or she didn't even hear it.

"Hollows don't generally come back to an area for a while, especially if they've taken a beating. They may look scary, but they're all cowards inside."

The news helped, she supposed, but Tatsuki still felt like something was wrong. Rukia finally noticed an arched an eyebrow in a mixture of annoyance and interest.

"What is it?"

Tatsuki hesitated, wondering if the other girl knew anything, and then realized she probably didn't know and hadn't been told.

"That thing was going after sensei. He told me so himself."

Rukia nodded at that, putting a hand to her chin as she seemed to think on that.

"And the reason he went after all of you was for hostages..."

She closed her eyes and began to shake her head.

"I don't think-"

"Are you sure that thing won't be coming back soon? Maybe it'll try to take another hostage."

The other girl gave a dismissive snort at the interruption, one Tatsuki didn't appreciate.

"That's silly, I mean..."

And then Rukia's voice trailed off, even as the color began to drain from her face. She turned to look Tatsuki in the eyes again, and the young martial artist could almost feel the growing fear in the other girl.

"Have you seen Ichigo anywhere today?"

At the words, Tatsuki felt the chill in her spine become a river of ice. She made a show of looking around the room, as much for herself as for the person she was talking to.

"Not at school here. Did he come by sensei's place?"

Rukia just shook her head.

"No..."

A few moments passed, and then Tatsuki noticed that Rukia had paled and started shaking her head a little.

"No...no...that couldn't have happened..."

Tatsuki realized what the other girl was thinking, and began to worry a little more herself.

"Look, it's probably not that bad. Ichigo disappears like this sometimes; he's done it since he was a kid, especially if something's upsetting him."

Rukia gave a nod at the news, and it seemed to visibly calm her a little. Tatsuki waited as the other girl pulled herself back together again.

"Okay, yeah...sorry..."

The sight of what she hoped was a professional starting to lose it frightened the brunette, and she decided to see if she could find something to get Rukia to continue calming down.

"You guys know how these things operate, don't you? I mean, their powers and everything?"

To Tatsuki's surprise, Rukia shook her head vigorously.

"No, every one of them is different, and we don't have the time to catalog them all..."

That made another chill run through Tatsuki, and she braced herself against the fear it brought. At the same time, the fear on Rukia face faded as though Tatsuki were absorbing it.

She looked at the martial artist with dawning realization.

"You mean you know what that thing is capable of?"

Tatsuki gave a nod, thankful that they weren't completely clueless about their situation.

"Yeah, some I guess..."

Rukia quickly grabbed Tatsuki's arms, getting a yelp out of the taller girl, and then stared forcefully into her eyes.

"Tell me right now."

Tatsuki told Rukia about the monster she had run into, about the small creatures and their exploding slug-thingies, and its aggressive, arrogant behavior. As she did so, the other girl just nodded her head occasionally, as though it was now a meter for showing how much information she'd absorbed.

When Tatsuki was done, Rukia turned to the room's doorway and started walking.

"Now we need to tell Feng-san right away. And we need to find Ichigo as soon as we can. If anything's happened to him..."

She knew it was stupid, but some evil part of Tatsuki could help taking advantage of the opening, even at this kind of moment.

"I thought you said you weren't 'involved' with him?"

Rukia just stared at her in shock and outrage.

"This is no time for...! We need to go now."

Tatsuki smiled for just a moment, and then agreed internally with the other girl. The school day was only half over, but if it was Ichigo and sensei's immortal souls that were at stake.

The fear she felt was still there, but Tatsuki felt it being subsumed by other emotions: excitement and a sense of purpose in finally being able to do something about what had been going on the last while.

Rukia still looked a little shaken, but also had determination in her features as they exited the room.

"I'll go look for Ichigo, you take Feng-san. Let's hope that monster decides to stay away from Karakura for a while."

Tatsuki nodded and then started down the hallway at a run, cursing her lack of a cellphone or something to talk to Sensei with.

She thought she knew where the older woman would be this time of day, though; Sensei had some set routines, and Tatsuki was pretty sure she wouldn't be too hard to reach by foot.

Maybe everything would be all right.

She sincerely hoped this would be all over nothing...

* * *

><p>"You know...it's kind of strange."<p>

"_What is?"_

As she walked through the streets of Karakura, Shaolin shrugged her shoulders.

"I just feel...not as stressed as I did this morning."

The sunny early summer weather almost certainly helped. It was around noon, and the brilliant blue sky was dotted with just enough puffy white clouds to make it interesting. It was warm, but just enough to be comfortable, with a slight breeze to take the edge off.

It was just a wonderful day, despite the reason for her being out here.

She needed to see what had become of Ichigo.

Not that she was too worried about him at the moment; he was probably sulking somewhere. But he needed to be at school and she needed to be sure, so she was walking the streets of Karakura looking for his reiatsu signature.

"_Perhaps you are feeling that way because you have gotten to know Kuchiki-san a little; you do not have such a stranger in your house."_

Hana seemed to think for a moment.

"_Or maybe it is because you have finally made a decision about Ichigo-san that you can live with."_

The assassin sighed at that.

"Maybe. But...I don't know..."

"_What...?"_

Shaolin sighed and let some trouble ease into her features.

"You know that device Kuchiki-hime carries around with her?"

"_The one that she claims tells her about when a Hollow is to appear in the area?"_

The ex-shinigami could hear the note of skepticism in Hana's voice.

"You've had time to think about it, and you also think the thing's too good to be true, don't you?"

There was the feeling of the mod-soul shrugging her shoulders.

"_Maybe technology in Soul Society has advanced since my time there. But I am incapable of detecting a Hollow at any time before they appear in this world. And since they can appear and disappear from any location they please..."_

Shaolin nodded her head at that, the trouble deepening on her features.

"...it's impossible to have tracking systems in Hueco Mundo itself."

She stopped and closed her eyes as she thought about the implications of that.

That it meant that the Hollows facing Ichigo and Rukia had to have...

"_Shaolin...!"_

The wave of Hollow reiatsu hit the ex-shinigami like a stiff breeze. It was foul, even for one of their kind, and she knew that whatever had formed the base soul for it had been an evil person even before their death.

She opened her eyes and saw the massive bulk of a winged Hollow, its mask grinning with pleasure as it sat in the middle of the sidewalk in front of her.

Shaolin kept her face neutral, even as she took a moment to notice the damage that had been done to what she was sure was the Shrieker; a few residual cracks in its mask on one side, and a wing that had only just recently been healed.

He would have some hesitancy to fly...that would be good if they started fighting here.

This wasn't the best place to have a battle...it never was.

But at least it wasn't Ichigo facing this thing.

"I take it you need something from me? Or did you just want to stand there and breathe all over me?"

"_You really are nervous, are you not...?"_

She was, but she wouldn't let Hana or this thing see that.

The monster before Shaolin chuckled a little, a deep, threatening sound that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up a little.

"Naw...I just wanted to have your soul for breakfast, that's all..."

This thing had already killed two of her kind...

Shaolin kept her features calm, and simply cocked an eyebrow.

"And what makes you think that will happen?"

Though he was trying to show a picture of strength, she could tell he hadn't recovered fully from his beating by Tatsuki, Chad and Orihime.

So what made him think...?

Shrieker lifted a...she hesitated to call it a hand...in the air and let something dangle from it.

And Shaolin felt her heart freeze as she recognized the battered form of a school backpack.

She looked from the backpack to the monster's face, where the rictus grin had gained more of an evil smile to it.

"I think maybe you'll be more...accommodating. That is, if you want this thing's owner in one piece..."

"_Shaolin...what is going on? Shaolin?"_

Shaolin could barely hear her friend's words.

She could barely think at all...

"Ichigo..."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: I hope this chapter wasn't too bad, considering how long I've kept everyone waiting. I've been looking at some of the constructive criticism people have been sending in, and thought I'd address some of it here, as well as ask a couple of questions.<p>

I've heard that the story might be getting a little dark, and now that I've been looking a little closer at it, I'm beginning to see that that's true. While I am going to try and keep the story from getting _too_ dark, I do have a defense for what I've been doing. Consider, for a few examples, that in the early chapters of _Bleach_ Ichigo's home gets attacked not once, but twice; one of the major characters (Orihime) is nearly killed in her own home; and a Hollow is sent to Hell in a rather brutal fashion. Again, I won't be turning the story midnight black, but the story is going to be a little on the dark side just because the series is.

Another thing that was brought up was the mixed use of Japanese and English in the story, such as when I'm referring to the companies (like '2-Bantai'). I'd seen other stories doing the same thing and thought I'd try it out myself for this one; I've been more than reluctant to change the format beyond what I did earlier because it wouldn't be fair to the people who have already read and enjoyed the story to just unilaterally change it all of a sudden. But if it's causing problems for most of the readership, I do want to know; I don't want a relatively little (and easily correctable) thing like that spoiling this piece. (I've already heard what some people have said on the subject; if anyone else wants to chime in or has ideas, please feel free to say something or PM me.)

On that note, do you people care for the Author's Notes I've been putting in these chapters, as well as the responses to reviews? Or would you rather I cut out the Author's Notes as unnecessary and just PM my responses for reviews from now on?

* * *

><p>And now for response to the reviews from the last chapter...<p>

_reality deviant_: I'm glad you liked the chapter. And as for our parrot friend, I've got something in store for him... (As an aside, it always sat wrong with me that he would willingly, in any way, help the person he _knew_ murdered his mother. That does not speak well of his morality.)

_QueenPersephoneofHades_: I thought Shaolin, being an experienced combatant who usually faces opponents who are larger than her, wouldn't have too much trouble dealing with Ichigo (this Shaolin taught him a lot of what he knows, and he also seems to have gone to the same swordsmanship school as Kenpachi Zaraki). And don't worry, it won't be too much longer before Shaolin's secret is revealed; Shrieker's going to force the issue...

_anna (Guest)_: Thanks for the review, and I hope you like this chapter as much as the last one.

_Ability King KK_: I'm happy you liked the chapter; I had wondered if I put too much in. I'd also wondered if maybe I had done too much 'patching up' between Rukia and Shaolin, or had gone too far with the scene on top of the clinic, so I'm very gratified to hear that people think it turned out well. (Although, there's still going to be friction between Rukia and Shaolin, and Ichigo's going to have some things to say when he gets done with his 'thinking'...)

And thanks for the comment on the Rukia-bashing. I don't think she's a bad person, I just think her priorities are a little messed up because of her background.

_Yonomori Hayden Yuki_: Thank you for the positive review on the chapter! Mei Xing will be getting more involved in the story, rest assured. As for Ichigo going to Soul Society, that's still a ways off...but Shaolin will be going as well as Ichigo (though not necessarily _with_ Ichigo...)

_X3n0s_: I'm glad you liked the last chapter, and the contents. I am planning on having Tatsuki getting more involved in the shinigami-Hollow war than she was in canon, so this is something of a start. And as for what Shaolin is going to do about her cousin...well, you've seen what I had her figure out, and I can say it won't be fun for everyone...

_Fifth Horseman_: Thanks for the reassurance about the update rate, and also thanks for the opinion on Rukia; as you can see from this chapter, I realize that she does have solid reasons for some of the things she's done, though I still think there's something of a deficit on Rukia's side.

As for Shaolin and her emotional state, I actually do have plans for her to crawl into a dark corner, both physically and psychologically (the latter will be especially interesting). And she is going to have to level with Ichigo pretty soon...at least as far as _what_ she is, though not necessarily _who_ she is...

(And don't worry about being in a funk; I think I've pulling out of one myself recently. :)

_Isangtao_: Thank you for the review and the constructive criticism. I'll try to do what I can about the flashbacks, and I'll see what I can do about how dark the story is becoming (truth to tell, I think I am probably going a little too far with both right now). I am glad that you liked the plot and build-up; I've been wondering for a while if the story was plodding along too slowly, and it's nice to get reassurance on that score.

As for the fact that the story is following the canon arc pretty closely – I plan to have some more divergence a little later, but I'll tell you now that this is intentional and also part of the plot. There's a reason I've let things go in a certain direction...

_ShotgunWilly_: I'm always glad to have a review from new people, so thank you! And thanks for the constructive criticism as well. I'm hoping to pick up the pace of the story a bit after this; it just started out kind of slow and continued that way. And as for the mixed use of Japanese in the story, see the author's notes above; I'm glad you brought up the point and see what I can do about it, and hope it isn't messing too much with your enjoyment of the story.


	16. A Shrieking Bee

Disclaimer: _Bleach_ and the characters in it are the property of Tite Kubo and Shonen Jump Magazine. This story is not being written for profit or fame, but simply for my personal enjoyment (and hopefully the enjoyment of others).

A happy welcome to _Little Bookwyrm_, _Khiruki_, _kinelol_, _boyo77_, _Scales of nothing_, _Taeniaea_, _jetflash_, _DarkReaver85_, and _atwistedconundrum_. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the ride!

Before I begin, I want to admit that I left you scratching your heads a bit (or worried out of your minds) about what happened to Ichigo. Let's just say this is where I either get a lot of hate or a lot of love for being 'clever'.

Also...I'm not sure how this battle is going to be received. Not that I really skimped or anything, but the first fight against Shrieker was pretty hard to top, so hopefully this one won't disappoint.

And now, on to the story...

* * *

><p>Feng Mei Xing smiled as she looked out over the familiar landscape.<p>

Tall, lead-colored hills rose above a winding river of shimmering silver, a sky full of leaden clouds overlooking it all. Here and there along the landscape stands of trees and vines – some silver and steel, some the color gunmetal – formed lush patches of untamed nature.

But much of the scene stretching out before the shinigami _had_ been tamed, meticulously. Many of the hills had been terraced, low gray walls made of metallic stone holding paddies filled with the same silver water that flowed in the river below. A series of low earthen dams and other waterworks along the valley restrained that flow, bringing control to what Mei Xing knew had once been a raging torrent.

It had taken decades to get her inner world this tamed, to bring this much order to what had once been a wild land dominated by chaos, and it required constant upkeep to maintain. Seeing it like this, she couldn't help but feel a little pride in the physical manifestation of her own self-control, and the control she held over her own zanpaktou's spirit.

Her physical body was still in Karakura, resting in a state of meditation inside a safe-house while her mind was here, in what she had been told was her inner world.

Or was it Ginmizu's world...?

She had never been entirely sure which it had been, though by now she had long since ceased to care.

It was her world, tamed by her hand, and now she was using it as she had many times before.

Mei Xing was sitting in a pavilion she had constructed on the side of a hill near one of the paddies – the place that was affording her this marvelous view. There had been a natural spring here, the water flowing through down the side of the hill and joining the river below. Now the waters had been forced into a stone-lined pool that made it easier for the shinigami to commune with her partner.

She had used the river itself for time in the past, but doing it this way gave her the upper hand, as opposed to her zanpaktou.

Ginmizu still liked to test her, see who was the stronger of the two of them...

In the Living World, she knew, her blade's physical form was making its way quietly through the city, much like the 'water' making it's way through the valley she could see below. And through the connection between that material and the 'water' in this world, Mei Xing could see what Ginmizu did.

And right now she could see her cousin standing in some non-descript street in Karakura, frozen like an idiot in front of a Hollow.

Not just any Hollow, of course, but one that she knew from her files had been given a name.

The Shrieker.

Typically Hollows were only given names if they had killed shinigami; it showed they were foes to be reckoned with, and made her kind feel as though it was showing the beasts some form of respect.

This one had killed two, consumed their souls and gained their power, along with whatever nameless people he had also supped on.

So he was dangerous, at least to someone who didn't watch themselves.

Like Shaolin was appearing to do right now...

Shrieker seemed to be holding Shaolin at bay with a tattered backpack, as though it was some kind of magic talisman. Most likely it came from one of the humans she liked so much.

While she hadn't watched her cousin all the time, Mei Xing had done it enough to know the woman had been warned a number of times about this...

She sighed and smiled a little at the display, shaking her head as she prepared to watch the show.

Mei Xing had already noticed Shaolin's 'invitation' to meet; she could guess what the woman wanted to talk about, and she'd probably decide to be nice and listen.

If dear cousin managed to continue existing through the mess she was now in...

* * *

><p>The famed Guardian of Karakura...the Living Shinigami...a woman who'd executed who knew how many of Shrieker's kind over the years...<p>

Now standing in front of him...paralyzed...probably terrified at the thought of her beloved whatever-the-boy-was-to-her being harmed...

The sight made the Hollow internally smile.

What made him smile even more was that Shibata brat proving pretty useful this time, even if he didn't mean to be.

He'd made yet another pathetic attempt to run and hide, gone to some kid's school and gotten some girl sick...

A girl whose big brother happened to be really important to the Guardian.

Shrieker could see it now, through his drones' eyes; the idiot fawning over his little sister, wondering what was wrong...

And above it all that bird with a boy's soul stuffed in it, not knowing what he'd done...

At least, he was pretty sure the brat was responsible for the mess, but even if he wasn't...it didn't matter...

The Guardian's own brat was somewhere else, and that had given Shrieker and opportunity he'd been able to take advantage of.

It was the kind of thing he'd done when he was alive, and it was the kind of thing he did now.

Watch and wait, watch and wait...

Watch as the boy focused on what the Hollow assumed were his sisters...as he left his backpack in his room...

Wait until nobody was looking and then have his drones snatch the thing, rough it up a bit, and then...

Present it to the Guardian as though he'd done something to its owner.

Shrieker had seen Hollows like the boy, people who couldn't control their energy; he was dead to anything spiritual happening literally out of sight.

So he wouldn't interfere.

And the Guardian wouldn't know what condition the kid was in, only that he wasn't dead...yet.

Shrieker loved playing this kind of game.

He was just kicking himself for not having thought of it earlier.

At least it would impress the person watching this whole thing...he hoped...

* * *

><p>"<em>Shaolin..."<em>

The assassin couldn't hear her friend's words.

Most of her attention was on the school bag in front of her, held in the hands of a monster.

The part of her mind that was still functioning was the only thing that kept her form total despair; she knew if this thing had eaten Ichigo, it'd be ridiculously powerful now. It would also probably be in Hueco Mundo right now, digesting such a large 'meal'.

Still, she had to exert effort to keep herself calm, to keep herself controlled; she had to fight down the panic and despair that tried to take over...

Even if he wasn't dead or consumed, Ichigo could still be in trouble.

Shaolin could just see him unconscious, bound up somewhere, just waiting to be devoured by whatever one of this thing's kind happened to come along...

The fact that this thing was still here after the fight the night before was enough of a shock; Hollows rarely hunted in the same place, especially if they'd run into something that could put up a decent fight.

And her, in an intact but still-damaged gigai...

This was not going to be at all fun.

She tried to keep her expression and voice steady as she stared down the thing in front of her and pointed at the bag.

"Where is he? If you've done anything to him-"

"_Shaolin...where is _who_...?"_

The beast seemed to smile a little, even as it lowered the backpack onto the ground. There was a wry look in its eyes.

"You'll do what? I've got your...whatever he is to you...and I'll let him live if you do what I want."

She understood the look now; this encounter was becoming a little cliché.

The ex-shinigami sighed and made her expression more serious; she was still tense, and she knew this wouldn't last much longer.

"You're going to kill him anyway, aren't you?"

The monster nodded.

"Yeah...pretty much, once I'm done with you."

Shaolin made a point to arch an eyebrow.

"Why not go after _him_, then?"

"_Shaolin, are you two talking about Ichigo-san?"_

Now the beast smiled again.

"Because you're worth more."

"_What...?"_

Even though the assassin kept herself from reacting to them, her thoughts echoed Hana's sudden question.

Who in Hueco Mundo...who among the Hollows would know enough about her to want her dead, to see her as a prize or send someone after her?

And then she knew the answer to her own question.

"Grand Fisher sent you, didn't he?"

Shrieker let go of the schoolbag and let his smile widen.

"Maybe... I suppose it'll be all right to tell ya; you aren't going to be around much longer. I guess revenge might be part of it, but there's more going on out there. There's going to be a party, Guardian, and we Hollows are going to _own_ this realm."

"_Talk about overblown rhetoric..."_

Shaolin wished she could be that confident; Hana hadn't seen things in the Fifties. The Hollows could make good on a threat like that, at least in sheer numbers, though this sounded different.

At the very least it took her mind a little off of Ichigo.

"That's a pretty bold statement."

The monster huffed a little.

"You haven't seen what I've seen lady."

She was sure about that. But right now Shaolin needed to get away from this monster and try to either kill it quickly or find and rescue Ichigo.

She couldn't fail another loved one, and she certainly couldn't fail Masaki or Isshin.

The ex-shinigami reached into her pocket to take out the phone Hana was contained in. She would need to be out of her gigai if...

"_Shaolin, you need to know that-"_

Before she could continue, the assassin felt something slimy and sticky hit her hand. Then Shrieker stuck out his tongue, an action Shaolin found disgusting

There was a high-pitched hum in the air...

And then the back of her hand exploded.

A sharp note echoed through the air as the bracer she was wearing on her arm absorbed most of the blast's force and heat. Still, the noise and shock was enough to make her jump back in surprise, and a small tendril of smoke came from a hand that had been singed.

At least it hadn't been blown off; she noted the place on her hip where a hole had been torn from her pants and thanked Karl for the long-ago gift.

Then a clatter on the ground made her turn her head to the street and the phone her friend still lay inside of.

A rustle to one side distracted her, and she saw a small, amphibian creature right before its split-open head launched a set of leech-like things at her and-

"Hana...!"

It was either her or the phone, and Shaolin's instinct chose herself; she leaped out of the way of the creatures, and another vibration-induced explosion.

An explosion which was centered around the phone.

Some part of the ex-shinigami was sure her friend was all right; the phone had been designed to be durable, just as Shaolin's gigai was. But what was left of the device was smoking and fragmented from the blast, and she couldn't hear anything coming from her friend.

She looked back at the creature that had done this; he was still smiling, and now Shaolin wanted to wipe that smile from his face.

Wanted to break his face into pieces.

Wanted to send him to Hell...

Her train of thought stopped as she saw him wag a finger to her.

"No cheating, sister. No help from the outside. It's just you and me."

Shaolin latched on to the words as she stood there; Shrieker was right, though she hated to admit it.

Hana was either dead or all right; Ichigo was either going to be dead or all right.

Right now none of that mattered, though it pained her to even think it.

All that mattered was herself and the thing standing in front of her.

She had to survive, and then she'd figure out what to do next. That kind of thinking was what had kept her going this long, when she chose to admit to it.

She tamped down the emotions roiling in her and managed a tired look on her face that she partly felt.

"If it's just you and me, then I can use whatever I have, right?"

Shrieker made a show of thinking about the matter, and then shook his head. He waved his hand, and a small legion of ugly, green amphibian-like things walked up around him.

"Not really, though I guess you can try if you like..."

Shaolin managed a smile and held out her palm; she tried to ignore the strain she could already feel in this body's arms, and focused on the energies gathering in front of her hand.

"Shakkahou!"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, a massive red fireball shot towards Shrieker.

The Hollow only had time to look on in horror before the flames hit him square in the face, blowing him backwards even as they burned him; his drones scattered to avoid being crushed by their master's bulk.

"Ow...! You bitch, I'm gonna...ow!"

Shaolin didn't stick around to hear the rest, and ran to the remains of her phone, picking it up before running as fast as she could from the site.

As she ran she took a momentary look at the charred device and even tried fiddling with the phone a little, glancing to either side to see if Shrieker or his minions were near. But the phone was broken enough that it would take too much time in the middle of battle to try and crack it open. She cursed herself for letting this happen and then jammed the remains into her other pants pocket.

Whatever Hana's condition, there would be no getting out of the gigai this fight.

Shaolin would have to fight as a human.

Well, she'd had more than enough practice with that in her decades in the Living World...

She kept glancing around...waiting for some more of those things to pop up and start lobbing more explosives at her.

At least she knew something about her enemy – that he liked attacking from a distance, immobilizing his prey, and then going after them when they were to hurt to do anything. And he like ambush and surprise...

He was definitely a coward, although that was something of an oxymoron when talking about most Hollows.

But it meant she'd need to get him out in the open, get close to him...

She stopped for a moment as she realized she was doing exactly what she _shouldn't_ be doing, running away. And then Shaolin started picking up her pace again, concentrating more on the area around her.

Let the fool think she hadn't figured him out yet. Let him let down his guard.

She was sure that would appeal to his ego...

Then she thought to look up, as the Hollow had wings...

There...she saw the monster above her, flapping wings keeping his bulk aloft in defiance of aerodynamics, the ever-present rictus grin leering down at her.

"Better not look at _me_, missy..."

Shaolin saw something out of the corner of her eye, threw herself down on the ground and rolled under a spray of the leeches from one of Shrieker's drones. She saw the Hollow stick its tongue out and heard the hum, and started running again...

The explosion blew her off her feet, but she scrambled forward and then up, looking around as she did so.

She could feel Shrieker's reiatsu, its foul presence all over this area; it was probably what was driving all the living creatures and people out of the area.

But she felt only relative specks of energy from the drones and the leeches they spat out; she could feel them, but there was enough reiatsu blasting from the Hollow, and enough of the little 'drones' that she had trouble keeping track of it all.

And all it would take would be missing one or two of them...

She took note of that as something to be careful of as she swung into a building, and then stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

Then she began chanting quietly; Shaolin wanted the next spell she used against Shrieker to cause some actual damage.

She noticed another drone, standing near her and just...watching her with those blank, expressionless eyes.

And then another one popped its head into view, and another...and another...

Even as she continued mouthing the words of the chant, and sighed inwardly at the end of her 'break', Shaolin could feel the Shrieker closing in outside.

And something connected.

She threw herself outside as the drones opened their heads and looked up at the monster flying above.

He could see through the drones' eyes.

He could hear what they heard.

One more reason why there was no point in running, no point in trying to hide...only fight.

Which was just fine with her.

She threw her palm at Shrieker as she ended her chant, and the creature's eyes widened as a ball of electricity gathered in her hand...

"Hado #63, Raihoukou!"

The Hollow was already moving out of the way, but it didn't do any good against the bolt of golden lightning that sprang from the crackling orb. The electricity was attracted to the Hollow's body like a living thing – something hunting the hunter.

It arced through the air and then tore a hole through Shrieker's wing; the damage and pain made the limb collapse, and the monster fell from the sky and crashed to the ground with a howl. Almost immediately he began to struggle to get up, to try and get back into a fighting stance with his crippled arm.

She took the opportunity given her and hurled herself towards him, muttering another chant under her breath.

She would finish this, but not before Shrieker told her where Ichigo might be.

And then she would send this Hollow's benighted soul to its deserved place of residence...

Then she heard a splattering sound behind and around her, and saw more leeches around her. They were too far away, though; she'd taken the measure of how powerful the explosives this beast used were.

As the Shrieker's hum sounded in the air again, she figured she was-

The sound from the explosion shattered her concentration.

The spell on her lips died as Shaolin found herself unable to think, unable to do anything except clap her hands over her ears and scream as the pressure wave blew her senses out of whack.

She couldn't hear anything, and didn't care that she had lost her momentum.

She just wanted to pain and disorientation to go away.

And then a mass landed on her, knocking her to the ground and driving the air out of her lungs. She could sense Shrieker bringing his face to the back of her head, and feel his breath on her.

"So...you've been in contact with one of those shinigami, haven't ya? Got a lot of fancy tricks from 'em? No wonder you've been so hard to kill."

Shaolin hoped the monster would keep talking; even now she was beginning to feel the pain fade a little, and her senses were beginning to coming back.

If she could just get enough-

The ex-shinigami felt Shrieker land a kick in her back; not hard enough to break anything, but she felt a few ribs begin to crack and hissed at the pain.

She was definitely going to need a new gigai after this.

"No more magic...what are ya gonna do now?"

The ex-shinigami tested her arms, felt they were still free enough to reach her belt. She grabbed hold of what she was looking for, the hilt of the reishi blade, and smiled weakly to herself.

"How about this?"

Shaolin activated the blade and felt its lethal vibration in her hand, its cool blue-white light coloring the asphalt of the road she was pressed against. She flipped the blade in her hand so it pointed to the Hollow and then stabbed upward.

She didn't know what it hit, but it was obviously something painful as Shrieker let out a high pitched scream, and the pressure was suddenly off Shaolin's back.

Her senses had recovered from the earlier shocks by now, and she got up as fast as she could to put a little bit of distance between her and...

The assassin was sent flying again as she felt a massive wing-hand hit her from behind, murderous rage behind the appendage; she landed hard on the sidewalk, and only the knowledge that she needed to get up made her ignore the pain and get back to her feet.

She turned around, and saw that the Shrieker was furious.

"That's it! Now I'm gonna make you feel pain before I kill ya!"

Like he hadn't already done that?

Shaolin could feel every scrape and cut and bruise, could feel that some of the bones in this gigai were broken. And she seriously hoped that it wouldn't transfer into her spiritual body.

If only she'd brought that damned glove...

Well, she had brought the armbands, and they had helped. And she'd brought the reishi blade, too, so she wasn't being a complete idiot.

But she wasn't in good shape, either.

And she didn't even want to think about Ichigo.

She again pushed down the thought of what might have happened to him, or how she'd explain this to his mother's spirit if she ever ran into the woman.

Once again, she reminded herself that she needed to kill this bastard Hollow before he ended her.

As Shrieker roared a challenge, the ex-shinigami readied her weapon and charged him.

Some part of her felt stupid doing this; as she closed the distance, she felt like she was heading into a certain trap. But she already knew she had no choice; this really was the best of a set of bad options.

And she was going to be damned if something like this monster defeated her here.

Shrieker recovered from his roar and stood there, almost daring her to come to him as she continued to get closer.

But she knew what to expect...

She saw a drone leap out from her on the left; she turned and cut the thing in half before it could do anything, leaped out of the way of the leeches, landed on the ground and kept going.

Another two started to approach from the other direction; a quick fireball blew both of them up, and she threw herself in such a way to take advantage of the pressure wave. She let it hit her, rolled with it, and used the momentum to keep going after her target.

She saw his eyes widen now, and he started waving his hand, summoning more of his drones to go after her.

It made her wonder what he'd been in life, and it suddenly hit her...made her feel more confident.

He'd been some sort of low level tough, hadn't he?

Maybe even thought of himself as a serial killer.

Which explained the way he 'fought'; that kind of person hunted other people, and like many hunters she knew, her own kind included, they weren't prepared for – didn't how to deal with – prey that could actually fight back.

It meant she might have the advantage if she could get up in his face.

Which she was about to do...

Before more drones could appear, she came up to Shrieker, smiled in his face and prepared to strike with the blade.

He swung at her, and she dodged; another drone emerged from his fur, and she quickly got up and cut the thing in half while it was still on him. The blade went into him, and he threw himself back with a cry of pain.

"That was for my friend..."

Shaolin knew he couldn't hear her over his own screaming, but she didn't care.

She was going to kill this bastard for sure this time.

As he staggered back from the wound, Shaolin ran around him to one side and jumped, twirling her body and extending her leg in a kick that had the full weight of her body behind it.

The kick connected and, even though he had much more mass than her, the force of the kick threw him to one side and into a heap next to a sidewalk.

She landed, ran forward, and then jumped and landed with another kick, driving him down into ground hard enough to dent the asphalt and concrete under him and send the sound of bone cracking through the area.

Some part of the assassin's mind felt bad about the collateral damage being done to the area, but it couldn't be helped. At least there were no other people around.

The assassin brought her blade up, swung it down in an arc to take his head.

But another drone jumped at her face, distracting her, and Shrieker hurled his wing-arm at her again.

She had to back up, cutting the drone apart and spilling its contents all over the road.

It was enough for the Hollow to back up again and scramble to his feet.

Shaolin ran around where the the leeches had fallen and punched at Shrieker's face.

He dodged, and the ex-shinigami quickly followed with a kick between the legs while he was again distracted.

But then he backed up before the limb connected, and then grabbed it hard.

The monster yanked, and Shaolin lost her balance, even as Shrieker pulled hard, hauled her up into the air by her leg and then spun around. As he finished the circle, he let go of her and the ex-shinigami went sailing through the air.

A crack went through the air as she slammed into and then bent a light-pole nearly to the sidewalk, and then tumbled to the ground in a heap.

The pain was excruciating, and she tried to scream but couldn't; she could barely hear the laughter of the monster as he made his way towards her.

And then she struggled to her feet, not sure whether to praise or curse her kind's durability. If she'd been human, she knew that would have been the end of her.

She looked around for the reishi blade, and found it gone. Not surprising, since she'd probably lost it during her 'flight' and it would have deactivated and be nothing but a small piece of metal now.

If she found it, good...but...

Through the pain, all that mattered now was survival...

She had to keep going now matter what.

If only to protect her friends and loved ones...

From things like the Shrieker, who was walking towards her now, a smile on his face. She noticed that he had a little bit of a limp; she'd damaged him, but he'd likely heal fairly quickly.

She had to ignore the pain she felt through her body.

Had to ignore people she may have lost.

Had to keep her mind clear.

Shaolin knew, as the creature in front of her set himself up for anther attack, that she had to win this fight.

To protect people like Ichigo...and Tatsuki...

* * *

><p>Tatsuki's emotional mix as she made her way through the streets of Karakura was weird.<p>

On the one hand she knew that a dangerous monster was after Feng-sensei – one that had scared Rukia, someone who supposedly knew what she were doing.

On the other, Tatsuki didn't want to make a public scene, and she wasn't assured of how much time she had, so she might want to not hurry so fast.

She had no idea how long it would take for the monster to lick its wounds and come back; maybe it had already done so, or maybe it would be days...

Tatsuki had absolutely no idea.

So maybe there was some time...

She was hurrying anyway, going as fast as she could without causing too many people to stare at her.

It was bad enough that she was out and about on a school day, in her uniform, for everyone to see...

It almost made Tatsuki want to laugh. Playing hookey or trying to figure out where Ichigo had run off to and dragging him back to school should have been the only thing on her mind right now.

Not worrying about some monster from a horror movie...

She wondered if Ichigo was all right, though he probably was; after all he wasn't completely into this mess as far as she knew, just hanging on the edges.

Tatsuki still wanted to kill him for getting involved in this mess.

And she wanted to hurt Rukia for bragging him into it.

But that could come later.

Feng-sensei was facing a creature she...hell, the woman didn't even know the monster was _searching_ for her, much less what it was capable of.

Tatsuki wasn't upset with Rukia about that, really; these hunters were only human, and people made mistakes, had holes in their knowledge.

She just hoped it wouldn't be fatal this time...

Tatsuki honestly couldn't imagine Sensei being beaten by anyone...even that monster...

But worse than that, she didn't want to imagine if the woman did manage to get herself killed.

Didn't want to think about her view of the world and the people in it being shattered again...

The young martial artist pushed those thoughts out of her mind and continued half running through...

...streets that were suddenly empty.

Tatsuki hadn't noticed it while she was thinking, but now she found she was all alone in the middle of some residential part of the city.

There were no people here...no sounds of animals...not even chirping insects...

The place was quiet, like the street she and Chad had been on the night before...

And then she heard a roar in the distance, and her blood ran cold.

Maybe it wasn't the monster Tatsuki had faced the night before, the one she was trying to warn Sensei about; maybe it was something different. A small part of her mind had a laugh at that one, though, that it might be a different man-eating beast from the one she was expecting.

She stopped and looked around, trying to figure out the exact direction the sound had come from.

Despite her irrational hopes, something told her Sensei would almost certainly be there.

Tatsuki noticed something moving nearby...

Then she saw the frog-like creature, staring at her with evil, though unintelligent eyes; it made her immediately start backing up, and she turned her head around to look for more of them.

It was the monster from the night before, wandering around and probably fighting Sensei at this moment; it had almost certainly been the one to make the roar she'd just heard.

She was too late, and the thought made her heart sink.

For just a moment, as she saw the amphibian in front of her moving and its head splitting open, Tatsuki saw in her mind's eye someone weeping over Sensei's grave site.

And hers.

Then she shook the thought off.

She'd beaten the...Hollow...last night with help.

With sensei's help, Tatsuki knew she could do it again.

Maybe.

But first she'd have to deal with the thing in front of her.

She waited as the amphibian took aim, and then spewed out the leech-things Tatsuki remembered from her earlier encounter. Dodging the spray, she charged and gave a drop kick to the thing which sent it flying into the air.

Turning she saw another one take aim; before it could fire she started running.

No use giving these things a stationary target.

And Tatsuki had to make it to Sensei as fast as she could.

If she could just survive what was probably going to be a gauntlet...

She saw another one of the little creatures on the side of the road, spraying the contents of its otherwise empty head at her; she leaped a little to the side, in time for one of the leeches to hit one of its kind that had been following her from behind and detonate.

The ground shook a little with the resultant explosion.

Tatsuki just kept running, turning around one corner and dodging when another pair of the things shot more projectiles at her. She ran at them, kicked them aside, and then continued on, around yet another corner to put something solid between her and them.

She didn't know how many of them there were, but she assumed the answer was 'however many the monster wants to make'.

The idea scared her, and so she focused less on the path in front of her and more on not getting blown up.

She passed another creature, and then another, just blasting past them and bobbing and weaving out of the way when they tried to hit her from behind.

The fact she did so seemed strange, like she could feel these things just a little, like she had some sort of sixth sense.

Some idle part of her mind wondered what was going on, if it had anything to do with the night before, or with the time at Orihime's apartment...whatever happened there...

Or maybe it had to do with Sensei...

Whatever it was, she decided to table the thoughts; she turned another corner and found the place she knew the roar had come from.

And entered a war zone.

Pavement had been broken in places, lawn and shrubbery torn up out of the ground and strewn all over the place, divider walls broken into. In the distance she saw a streetlamp bent over like a plastic straw.

And all over the place she could smell ozone and burnt asphalt, concrete, and...she didn't want to know what kind of organic matter.

The sight made Tatsuki wonder if she really wanted to do this.

And then she saw it.

The monster she'd fought the night before.

Now it was here in bright daylight, and it looked even more hideous and repulsive than it had before. And she could _feel_ the darkness flowing from that thing, could feel her spine tingling at the idea she was in the same area with such a creature.

It was wounded, the brunette could see, and its attention was mercifully turned somewhere else, though her relief vanished when she saw where the monster was looking.

Tatsuki's heart skipped a beat as she saw her sensei, and the condition the woman was in.

Her clothes were ragged, torn, charred...just about any kind of damage one could think of inflicting in a fight had been done to Feng-sensei's clothes. And the woman herself was bleeding from several places, including some down the side of her face. She was standing, but there was grimace of pain in her features and she was holding herself a little stiffly.

It took Tatsuki a moment to calm down at the sight, and then another moment to squash the insane idea that Sensei was doing well against that thing.

Maybe she was, but the monster was still standing, and it didn't look anywhere nearly as badly injured. In fact, she could see some of the monster's wounds closing as she watched.

Sensei might not win this fight; she needed help.

But...could Tatsuki do anything...?

The brunette student just stood there for a moment, wondering what to do.

She knew if she just walked in, she might get in the way, might get Sensei hurt.

But the woman was already in that condition, and...maybe she could distract the thing...

Maybe she could attack it from behind, and Feng-sensei could come at it from the front.

Maybe together they could take this thing down.

It was reckless, but it just might...

And then she saw the monster turn in her direction and smile.

"Thanks, girlie. I thought you'd never get here."

And the world seemed to slow down as Tatsuki looked and saw a bunch of leeches crawling a short distance from her.

She'd just fallen into a trap.

Her mind berated her for doing such a thing, even as she heard her sensei notice her and scream in horror, and she saw a number of the leeches nearby explode...

She'd heard the term 'flash-bang' in the movies, an explosive meant to stun, not kill. And she certainly felt stunned as the pressure wave from the explosion hit her and drove her to her knees.

She tried to keep her eyes open, tried to keep as much of her conscious mind operational as she could.

Tatsuki kept her eyes fixed on the monster, who seemed to be enjoying himself at the sight of her pain.

Bastard...she'd get him...if she could just...

And then she saw several of the little drones that monster had begin to surround her.

She tried to to shake herself conscious, managed to get up and start doing something.

But Tatsuki realized she had no time or ability to dodge these things this time. There were too many, and they had surrounded her on too many angles, and she was still shaken by the earlier explosion.

All she could do was watch as their heads opened up and they launch more of the leech-things at her, too many to count.

She tried to dodge anyway, twisting her body and turning to run in a different direction.

Then she felt a wet slap on her left calf, felt something slimy and alive there...

And fear and revulsion took over at the thought that she was done.

And then more slapping sounds and sensations, some covered by her clothing, others hitting her on her bare skin.

She could feel it all over her body, and she tried to raise her arms to defend herself from the barrage.

But more of the things kept coming, and more leeches came at her, and more and more of them stuck to her.

And then it stopped.

She waited a moment, and then looked at the monster that had sent these things.

It seemed to smile, as much as that bone mask could do such a thing.

Then it stuck the tuning-fork tongue out, and Tatsuki thought to look down at herself.

She was covered in those leech-things.

And their master was about to detonate them.

She looked back up, saw the Hollow wave goodbye to her.

Saw the look of horror on her sensei's face.

Tatsuki didn't want to die...

She wanted to help her teacher, not this...

She wanted to live.

And as she thought the idea, she could feel something shifting in her.

As she heard the tuning-fork going off, she could feel the energy of these things, the foulness of them.

And she felt herself countering it...

She rejected it...rejected her demise...

And then everything went white around her...

And she felt the explosion.

* * *

><p>Shaolin's world froze as she watched the ball of fire and smoke engulf Tatsuki.<p>

She couldn't move...couldn't think...

Except for one thought which kept going through her mind.

Not again...

Another friend, another loved one taken from her within sight.

Not again...

Like Masaki, torn apart by another Hollow in front of her own son, a Hollow not unlike the one laughing in front of her.

Again...

Like Sokken, slain by her own kind over a stupid grudge that had nothing to do with him.

As Tatsuki had nothing to do with what Shrieker was after.

Again...

All because she'd been careless and over-confident, like that time almost a century ago...in the mud and rain...

So helpless and foolish when faced with reality...

Again.

Feng Shaolin felt a hole open up in her soul, as though it was in the ground underneath her feet. She seemed to float over it for a moment...

And then she fell in.

Or, more precisely, she let the darkness in that hole well up up from within, like a geyser of oil.

She let it fill her, let it consume part of her for once, as she didn't want to be in control for now...

"All right, now that that's taken care of..."

Shrieker's voice brought a part of Shaolin's mind, the part that was still concerned about events outside of herself, back to the present. It noticed that the Hollow was actually walking to her this time; apparently thinking that the shock of seeing someone she cared about dying had paralyzed his prey completely...

He pointed in the direction of the smoke cloud.

"Now if you're real nice, and let me kill you...I'll let the boy live... For a little while longer..."

Part of her heard those words, wanted to listen to them and do as Shrieker wanted to keep Ichigo safe.

But that part wasn't in control now, and it didn't believe the monster in any case.

The majority of her soul was a cold emptiness and ennui now, and it didn't care about such matters as friends.

And it was surrounded by a shell of rage that wanted only one thing...

To _obliterate_ the creature in front of her.

The ex-shinigami distantly heard a scream, and it took a moment to realize it was hers – an animal scream full of pain and hatred, trying to will its enemy to death.

She also felt her body move, avoiding the swipe the Hollow in front of her made with one of its massive hands. At the same time, one hand moved behind her back...

And, while Shrieker's eyes widened in surprise, she could feel the weight of her zanpaktou as it materialized.

She drew the sword into view in front of her, and now Shrieker stopped completely and stared; a look of mild shock now registered.

"Hey, that's a-"

Before he could finish, Shaolin's outer self let out another cry of rage; this time it was a war cry, and as her cold, inner self watched, the assassin launched herself at the monster.

Shrieker's eyes went wide at the sudden assault, and he reflexively held his hands up to defend himself even as he backed away.

But it wouldn't work...

Shaolin wouldn't let a friend's killer get away this time.

She slashed at the fiend, raised her arm and practically threw the blade at her enemy with all her might as much as tried to merely cut him.

It tore through a wing, cutting the membrane in half and leaving him flightless for the moment.

"Aw, shit-"

She slashed an outstretched arm, and she knew she was smiling like a maniac.

"-what the heck-"

Her sword tore through his furred hide, leaving a trail of red in the brown.

"-has gotten-"

She lopped off a corner of the bone mask; he was too frightened to notice.

"-into you, lady?!"

She screamed another war cry, this time one of exultation at hurting Shrieker, swinging her sword and cutting him again.

And again, and again, and again...

She could feel the blade biting into spiritual flesh each time, the keen edge slicing through what it hit with enough force that it was almost as though there was only air in its path. The wounds tried to close themselves, but she slashed again...and again...and again...

All he could do was quickly stagger back, a horrified look on his face, and every time she saw one wound close she cut there again.

She didn't even think of activating her shikai.

Shaolin was too mad...too _maddened_ to do something like that, even though the cold part of her mind thought it would be a good idea.

It would finish the battle in one blow, especially against an enemy as weak as this one was turning out to be.

But she wanted this..._thing_ to suffer.

She kept advancing, hurling Suzumebachi at Shrieker with abandon, ignoring pain and wounds on her body.

The ex-shinigami didn't care, didn't care anymore if she made it through this battle, if she could only take this thing down with her.

An image of Grand Fisher came to mind, and she could see herself hacking the Hollow down as she tore her blade through Shrieker's wing.

She kept hacking at the thing in front of her, seeing Masaki and Ichigo on the ground, possibly dead, and some part of her realized that Ichigo was probably dead now.

This monster had had more than enough time and reason by now.

And she had probably killed him...

Which made her as much a monster as the thing in front of her.

All the more reason for her to continue hacking away at this thing until it was gone.

To tear him to bits...to leave nothing left but spiritual ash...

Right and left, up and down – there was no reason or rhyme to her swings, just animal fury.

"Come on lady...this is nuts! You're nuts!"

Shrieker's eyes were wide with terror as he kept stumbling, and trying his best to back up, get some distance, do anything other than get hacked away at.

And then he fell onto the ground, onto his back.

Now his eyes went really wide, and he held his 'hands' before him in supplication.

He was helpless now, Shaolin could see it, and she took her chance.

She grabbed the hilt of her blade with both hands, raised it above her head as though she were going to sacrifice this Hollow on an altar, and then hurled Suzumebachi down towards the thing's chest.

And then she saw it smile.

Shrieker opened its arms wide, pushed hard with its legs, and let its outstretched wings carry it a few meters backward from Shaolin's strike. Her zanpaktou found only asphalt to bite into, driving halfway into the ground from the force of the blow.

The rage-filled part of her stopped, stunned, and tried to pull the blade free, but it was stuck. She jerked once...twice...

Her blade came free, and she turned her attention to her target...

Only to find him smiling behind a row of the amphibians, their heads all bowed and split open; in front of them was a row of leeches squirming on the ground.

She had just enough time to realize what he was doing when she head the hum coming from the Hollow's tongue and...

The long wall of explosives blew up in front of her, throwing her back into the air and then onto the ground. She heard the clatter as her zanpaktou went to the street and skidded to the sidewalk.

The shock stopped her, and she could feel the animal rage in her subside some, could feel the two parts of her soul coming back together like warm and cold water mixing a little.

Before she could do anything, Shrieker was on top of her and roaring in her face. His jaw opened wide; it looked like he'd tired of playing with her.

Some part of her remembered her bracers, and held a forearm up for Shrieker to bite on.

He obliged, this teeth tearing through the cloth on her shirt and hitting the metal. Delicate as it was, the metal didn't buckle or bend; it held its shape while a singing sound went through the air and the tracery on the bracer lit up.

The Hollow's expression became horrified as its teeth began to shatter like glass; it was like something from a stupid children's show, only it was really happening to him. He pulled back a little, throwing his hands over his mouth as he did so.

"What was that...?! You-!"

The still-thinking part of her sprang into action, and let her energies flow into her legs. A white nimbus formed around them, and she hauled them up and hurled them at the Hollow's chest in a mighty kick.

Shrieker backed off more, enough to avoid a direct hit and the annihilation that would have come from it. But the kick did graze him enough to blow the creature back off Shaolin and give her some breathing room.

She quickly lowered her legs and got back onto her feet, even as she saw Shrieker struggle to his. The ex-shinigami stumbled to where Suzumebachi was and grabbed it, putting it in front of her even as the Hollow managed to get himself into another fighting stance.

The two of them stood there, panting for breath, pausing between rounds of fighting.

Shaolin could feel the wounds on her gigai, on her body...and now the damage she had inflicted on its legs...she could feel the dirt on her skin, the sweat running down her body...the soreness and pain...

Gods...it was a pain being a mortal...

And her wounds weren't closing like Shrieker's; all he needed to do was wait her out, wear her down...

If he had the brains to realize that fact.

She realized that she was starting to think again. She still felt the rage flowing through her, still felt a disconnect, but she was beginning to come back to reality.

The pain she felt and the fact she hadn't destroyed the thing in front of her were beginning to wear out her emotions.

But that meant she was getting tired.

She needed to end this...now.

The ex-shinigami kept her eyes on her enemy, but at the same time tried to regulate her breathing, tried to calm herself further.

She needed to do that...if she wanted enough connection with her zanpaktou.

She continued to eye the Hollow in front of her...slowed her heartbeat as much as she could...

And then Shaolin could feel it...

The rage dissipating more...

Her mind and body beginning to become whole again...

She could begin to feel Suzumebachi's presence in her...

She felt she was ready, even as she saw more amphibian-things emerging from Shrieker's fur and his wings begin to heal up again.

She held out her zanpaktou in front, the blade level to the ground...

She focused her eyes and will on it...

"Sting all enemies to-"

Something pierced through her hand, knocking Suzumebachi from it and breaking her connection, both physically and spiritually; she distantly heard her blade clank on the asphalt, even as she looked at her now-bleeding hand.

She could feel some of the rage surge through her again...

She needed to kill this thing.

Needed to avenge Tatsuki and Hana and Ichigo and...

How dare they...?!

She looked down on the ground and saw a knife of some sort embedded on the ground. The she turned to look where the knife had come from, barely noticing the look of shock and annoyance on Shrieker's face, or the fact that he was looking at the same spot.

But there was nothing there.

No one...no thing...

Not even the sensation of someone's presence.

But there had to be someone there, judging by her enemy's reaction.

In the distance, she could hear the outrage in Shrieker's voice.

"I didn't need any help, damn it!"

* * *

><p>Mei Xing actually caught herself flinching a little at the sudden outburst of activity; in the distance she could half-see one of the terrace walls across the valley crumble in one spot, draining its paddy's contents down the side of the hill.<p>

No matter, she would take care of the damage – and discipline herself and Ginmizu – later.

Far more interesting was what had been happening on the field of battle she was watching.

Her instincts had been right about the young human woman; there was something special about this...Tatsuki person.

Though the Shrieker had thrown a full compliment of explosives against her, the girl was still very much alive. At the very least Mei Xing couldn't see anything that looked like a Chain of Fate, broken or otherwise, so she just assumed the girl was alive.

In fact, the girl looked remarkably undamaged from this distance, though her clothes were fairly badly damaged; the remains of a white nimbus of energy were evaporating right now, likely the source of her survival.

She'd seen something similar a long time before, and the memory made her smile a little...

She was sure a certain traitor to Soul Society would _very_ interested if she ever found out.

And at worst case Mei Xing could tell Kurotsuchi-taichou about this; the woman would certainly be interested in this as part of her 'feud' with Shaolin, if nothing else.

Far more intriguing was what else had just happened.

Shaolin's outburst was unfortunate, but not unexpected; the woman put herself under such strain all the time. She didn't have enough control over herself.

It had given her the upper hand in the fight, though. At least for a little while.

Until someone intervened...

And it was that someone, and the speed with which they reacted, that had shocked Mei Xing and loosened her self-control just a little; she thought only her people could move like that.

The shinigami ninja quickly adjusted the view to get a better look and saw a slender figure in white standing a ways from the battle. It looked like a 'she' – there was just something feminine about the figure that made it through the floor-length cowled cloak it was wearing – who was just...evaluating what was going on.

'She' had been keeping to the shadows, Mei Xing realized, to the extent that even Ginmizu hadn't noticed her due to the distraction of the battle.

The zanpaktou would need to be disciplined, as much as it could be, for that oversight.

But a figure in white...

A Quincy...?

No...a Quincy would have been helping Shaolin kill the Hollow, if she had chosen to get involved at all. Beyond that was the lack of a blue or sliver cross on the outfit; the Quincy loved to prominently display their badge of membership whenever they got the chance.

It had to be a Hollow, likely someone overseeing what Mei Xing had by now realized was a test of Shrieker's skill for some kind of recruitment.

An army? That was mildly interesting...

What truly concerned the shinigami ninja was that only the Shrieker seemed to notice the figure; the heat of battle couldn't account for that now, as the woman in white was standing in what should have been almost plain view.

Mei Xing had the feeling that it was Ginmizu that was allowing her to see this person at all.

There was also the fact that it was civilized enough to wear clothing; along with the human figure and size...

It couldn't be a Vasto Lorde; there wasn't anywhere near enough carnage in the area to attract one of those things, nor was there a 'retinue' of lesser Hollows that would have definitely been in the area.

So what was she seeing...?

Maybe the answer would be provided when Ichigo arrived.

Ginmizu could feel the boy's reiatsu, could feel it getting stronger...which meant he was headed that way.

Mei Xing allowed herself a little room to feel excitement.

She wondered what Shaolin's reaction would be to figuring out what a fool she'd just been.

* * *

><p>Shaolin was out of her fit of rage now; at least she was settled enough to curse herself for her loss of control. It hadn't helped her any, and right now the only thing saving her now was whatever had distracted the Shrieker.<p>

Her gigai was damaged again, this time in a more critical area; she tried not to let her legs tremble as she stood.

Gods...she was a mess now, wasn't she?

At least Hiyori or Yoruichi-sama weren't here to see this...

Neither one would let her hear the end of it.

She glanced to the spot Shrieker was looking at again, but still didn't see anything, didn't feel anything; all that was there as far as she could tell was empty air.

But there had to be someone there, unless the Hollow was more insane than most.

Her attention snapped back to her opponent as Shrieker finished his grousing and turned back to look at her, his smile returning.

"Sorry about that. Didn't know I was going to get help from the cheap seats..."

Shaolin didn't answer; she was too tired, too injured at the moment to do anything by try and catch her second wind. Though that was going to be difficult; the only thing that was keeping her from just collapsing in a heap right here was the idea that she didn't want Shrieker to be empowered by her.

That and the fact that she still wanted to avenge Tatsuki.

And Hana...and all the others...

She felt a tear go down her cheek.

And...

No, she could still feel Ichigo's energy, and it filled her with hope.

He was still alive, so maybe she could rescue him, at least.

But it was obvious from his stance – tensing to either fly into the air or leap at her again, his minions beginning to fan out from him to either side of her – that Shrieker had no intention of giving her that chance.

She flex her legs a little, and felt them respond sluggishly, felt a jolt of pain run through them that made her hiss; she couldn't make herself move well enough to do anything now but try and get away. And maybe not even that.

She was done, wasn't she?

And Tatsuki was dead...

And Ichigo.

What was going to happen to him-

"Get away from my obasan, you bastard!"

The ex-shinigami froze in shock as she heard Ichigo's voice coming from a few meters away.

She craned her head, half disbelieving what her ears were telling her.

"Aw hell..."

Shaolin half-noticed that her enemy had also turned to look at the entrant on the field, his drones pausing to await a possible change in their master's plan.

But she couldn't devote much attention to that.

What dominated her eyes was the scene in front of her, and the emotions it was unleashing in her.

There was Kurosaki Ichigo, in his black uniform, massive sword swung over his shoulder. He was pointing at Shrieker in a fashion as dramatic as the look on his face, like some hero come to save the day at the last moment.

Which, she supposed, he was trying to be.

Though some insane part of her mind thought about how the white parakeet perched on his shoulder sort of ruined the heroic effect...

But that was overwhelmed by the relief that her godson was 'alive' and well.

And by the knowledge that she was going to kill him for even being here if they made it out of this in one piece.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Since I didn't get any complaints about this section's existence, I'll continue it (besides, some of the things in it might give some people ideas...)<p>

I wanted to mention Shrieker's use of his 'drones' (I can't think of another good name for them) as sort of spy cameras. While I don't know if that's canon, I decided to fudge it a little and assume that was the case. The drones have eyes and they are psychically connected to him, so it made sense that he might be able to see out of them. And I also wanted to have him use at least _some_ strategy; the man escaped the attention of the police for a significant amount of time when he was alive, so he can't be a complete idiot. Though I figured one he had his prey where he wanted it, he'd be fairly direct; it sounded more like the methods of the serial killer he claimed to have been.

Also, I did give Shaolin a fairly powerful spell in this chapter, but she's a proficient magic-user in the canon storyline. In this time-line, she knows Tessai (one of the Bleach universe's most powerful sorcerers) quite well, so I feel she probably knows a high-level spell or two.

* * *

><p>And responses to the reviews for last chapter...<p>

_QueenPersephoneofHades_: I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter. As you can see, Shrieker was just bluffing his way around Shaolin to get her to do what he wanted. However, Shaolin and Ichigo will be helping each other soon, and her secret will be revealed in the next chapter.

_Ability King KK_: Thanks for the review! I wanted to do a little bit of patching up with Rukia and Shaolin because, frankly, I hate stories where everyone is fighting all the time; after a while you begin to wonder why these people are staying together (and then you wonder why you're reading it in the first place). And with this chapter I think your concerns about Ichigo have hopefully been answered.

As for Mei Xing and what she's doing...it's not her plans so much as her superiors' plans. And said plans are going to find a very happy home in the mess Rukia, Shaolin and Ichigo have found themselves in.

_guest_: Thanks for the review; it's always good to hear from new people. Yes, I believe Yoruichi has a dark side, but I also wonder if I could have handled some aspects of this story better (I will admit I've still got a lot to learn about writing a story). But we will be seeing another side to her in a couple of chapters.

_Fifth Horseman_: Thanks for the review, and I hope you liked this chapter. And as you can see, I used a little of both those ideas you mentioned for Shaolin being backed into a corner. Hopefully my being 'clever' with Shrieker's ruse didn't upset you too much (at least not as much as his intended victim). And I'm glad you like Shaolin's character; it really gratifies me that I'm able to craft a good character for a story.

_Taeniaea_: Thank you! I hope the story continues to entertain.

_jetflash_: Thanks for the compliment and the review! And hopefully the fight in this chapter and the next are helping to satisfy you a little.

_Anna Riza Kurosaki_: Thank you for the review and kind words! Hopefully this chapter entertained you as well as the last one.


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